Dark Legion Cursed Gifts
by Bustahead
Summary: WARNING: TORTURE IN CHAPTER 27! Suggestions for DL3 welcomed in with open smiles and arms or words. Thank you so far for all the reviews!
1. Chapter 1

Dark Legion – Cursed Gifts

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Chapter 1

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Blood decorated the walls, slowly running down the once pristine white, meeting in a pool of red at the floor, like a spilt pot of paint. Someone cried loudly in the silence of death. It hung in the air, tainting it, the very atmosphere became cloyed with the smell of murder. The high, dirge like wailing continued, and the walls seemed to collapse under the weight of grief that the sole voice carried at heart. The whole scenario was becoming hazy, as though one had suddenly been sedated. Spots of red and white danced in the air before everything turned grey, and then to black. 

And that was when she woke up.

Lorelei blinked and reached over towards her bedside table and fumbled for the clock, unable to see because of the dark. She stared up at the ceiling as her fingers travelled over the surface of the table, touching all those familiar items. Paperweight, box of tissues, her book, reading glasses, a clock…a clock. She smiled and made a grab at it but sent her book tumbling to the ground before her fingers managed to clumsily close around her object of desire. She held it up to her eyes and squinted, as though hoping that she had suddenly gained the night vision of a cat and could see through the dark. No such luck. She sighed and rolled over onto her side, this time knocking over her tissue box as she made her bid to relocate her lamp. She smiled ever so slightly as her fingers hit upon the switch.

Light drove out the darkness, forcing it to cower and cluster together in the corners of the room to form shadows. The light also momentarily drove out her sight. She winced and screwed her eyes shut, waiting for her vision to readjust to the sudden change in her surroundings.

She blinked several times before she was able to make out the figures on her digital clock. Three in the morning. Figures…why couldn't it have been some decent time? Like seven? Why did it _always _have to be some god forsaken time? She sighed, frustrated. Well, it wasn't as though she'd never experienced this before. Especially since she had started having these nightmares.

She slid out of bed and started shifting a few magazines and books, looking for a top she had thrown to the floor earlier that night. She smiled as she finally found it and put on the pair of trousers she had bought yesterday from the store nearby. She admired herself in the mirror, frowned when she detected a flaw in the fitting and threw them off, going back to change into a pair of baggy pants. Besides, it was three in the morning, who was she out to impress with her fashion sense?

She grabbed her pair of house keys and promptly shoved them in her jacket pocket, not wanting them to jangle musically against the key ring. Her mother happened to have the hearing of a bat. If she knew she was awake at this time and planning to go for a walk, well, she'd never really hear the end of it.

She slipped out from the confines of her room and jumped over the area directly in front of her door. She wanted, no, _needed _to go out, and she'd be damned if squeaky floorboards were going to stop her. It was this train of thought that caused her to slide down the banister when she got to the fifth step from the bottom. She slid noiselessly, felt for her house keys again and then, with an easy grace, slipped outside through the front door, barely opening it.

The night was pleasant. A breeze blew at her face and she stood there momentarily, savouring the fresh breath of wind as it blew against her copper streaked hair before she walked on, towards the beach. It was more pebbles and rock at first, but then it led down to sand, where sometimes seaweed washed up on shore. Sometimes, other things did to. Lorelei shuddered and forced herself to push those thoughts to the back of her mind. Instead, she looked across the rock, the sand, the sea, and then to the faint grey horizon from her position above, leaning against the steel railing that was there, smiling as the breeze returned and continued to caress her face.

Boats were out in the distance, their owners free, untamed, uncontrolled. They could do whatever they wished, their boats led them to freedom. Lorelei sighed and watched them. Though she felt as though she were confined and trapped in the four walls she called her home, and trapped in the warmth of her family, it contented her to watch those boats. They had something she thought she never would have, and seeing it so clearly made her feel envious, but at the same time, better. 

The moon was up and it shone brightly, even though the sky was turning from black to a deep navy blue, the hue noticeably lighter than before. The sun would rise soon. She blinked as she spotted a lone figure walking along the beach. It looked as though she wasn't the only one who was awake at this late hour.

The figure paused and stood at the water's edge, staring out across it. The moon glimmered on the water's surface, the ripple of the waves distorting the otherwise perfect sphere of pale white-yellow. Lorelei watched, almost as though spell-bound, something telling her that all was not right, and that there was something odd about this person.

She watched as the figure pulled out something from its pocket; the light was too dim to see whether or not the person was man or woman. A strange, high whistling sound shrieked through the air, and Lorelei winced at the sound. Her pain was soon forgotten as she stared at the waters, watching them boil slowly into a frenzied churning mass of bubbles. Lorelei couldn't tear her eyes away from the sight, the sight frightening her and yet fascinating her in the same way, like how a snake hypnotizes its prey.

The waters suddenly lifted upwards into a cascading waterfall. Lorelei blinked but then saw a dark shape behind the falling water. It wasn't a waterfall at all, it was simply water running off a huge beast. Lorelei was too scared to scream, fear paralysing her entirely, rooting her to the ground. The beast shook it's head slightly, causing water to fall like rain against the streets surrounding the area, its eyes glinting fiercely. She had to get out of here. Now. But her legs would not obey her mind's screams.

The _thing _was pale blue, small spikes coming from the back, the head serpent-like. It started to surge forwards, towards the figure on the beach. Lorelei saw it come out onto the sand and saw it had huge legs, small arms, almost like a dinosaur. Huge wings unfolded, stretching out to their full span.

She realised then that she was looking at a dragon. Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt all her limbs freeze up even more so. The silhouette on the beach moved closer to the dragon, and Lorelei could hear the faint strains of music, echoing eerily into the night sky. She watched in awe as the dragon soundlessly lowered its head, allowing the person to climb up and slide down to the space in between the dragon's wings.

The dragon roared out into the night sky, a tidal wave formed out of nowhere, capsizing the boats immediately, such was its power. Screams filled the air as people in their fishing boats were plummeted to their demise. In the bright moonlight, the figure's face could now be seen. His eyes were grey, his hair blonde. Lorelei realised with a shock he was wearing red armour. A confident smirk played across his face as he controlled the power and the strength behind the dragon.

She shifted her stance slightly, but that was all it took. The dragon's eyes snapped into place in her direction. Lorelei opened her mouth in a soundless scream as the dragon roared again. Lorelei turned around, only now galvanized into action. She managed to run two feet before she heard the man cry out something in a tongue she did not recognize. 

A huge force hit her from behind, plunging her into water that seemed suddenly to appear from nowhere. She let out a high terrified scream as the torrents of water pushed her back through the streets. Her head hit hard against something, a rock, a building? Water flooded everything, streets, cars, houses, her mouth, her nose. Everything was beginning to spiral into darkness.

Another high pitched scream, a coughing fit and then…

Silence.


	2. Chapter 2

_I'm tired. Very tired. =P But that isn't stopping me from writing this! ^_^ Seriously, I'm hoping this goes as well as the last one did. Me so HAPPY! Ahem. Anyways, this chapter sees the return of my fourth OC I ever made. Yes, people. Fourth! No wait…it's not even the fourth. Shit I have too many to count. Bah! _

_            Iesha: You've stood by me a hell of a lot and you've read nearly every single fic I've ever come out with. Seriously, I'm so glad to have a friend like you. I just hope your support continues._

_            Kikoken: I'm glad you liked the first fic. Here's hoping you'll like the second just as much!_

_            Dragonlady9: Don't worry, dahlink! Everything's going to be answered. _

_            Jade: Lol! Just be warned! There's no yaoi in here! It's all hetero, okay? (bops Vincent on the nose with a magazine) Tell him to stay away from Reiko in here!_

            _Burryk: You're lucky I got your review when I did or else I wouldn't have been able to put you in my notes. Anyway, you've been real good with the support. This girl isn't quitting any time soon!_

_Well here's the chapter! Hope you enjoy it! Read and review! ^_____^_ _AND THANK YOU ALL!_ Chapter 2 

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On that same night, a lone traveller walked steadily onwards, carrying a small bag over one shoulder. The look in his eyes was resolute, filled with a calm determination, a man on a mission. His stride seemed almost carefree and held with it the grace of one who was much respected, a man to be admired. It was measured, a pace that had eaten up the miles that now lay behind him. Trekking through the countryside had been anything but easy; he had been forced to constantly sleep in the roughest of areas, but hey, he was still alive and well, right?

He paused suddenly and turned his head as he realised he was nearing the city to which he had been walking towards. Finally. The thought _had_ occurred to him that perhaps he should have taken his car, but having said that, he knew what the streets were like. He knew it was nigh on impossible to find a parking space. Besides, with a car like his, he'd be if it wasn't hi-jacked. Anyway, the car would not protect him from the dangers of the sun.

For he was a vampire, a lord of the un-dead, the world of the night his kingdom, his to own, his to manipulate for his own purposes. He paused again, his ears picking up faint strains of club music, singing drunks on the street. He could smell the scent of cigarettes and could hear people laughing amongst themselves.

Looked like New York wasn't the only city that never slept.

Come to think of it, more and more cities were becoming more alive at night and for this, he was thankful. He had heard of times from before there were clubs, and before the new craze had really latched on. According to the older vampires he sometimes ran into, there was a time when they had been forced to starve for weeks on end before they came across some person who was out too late at night. It happened rarely, and the vampires had told him with disgust of how they had been forced to feed from animals.

Well, the vampire hadn't told them about the fact that he still did, and without discrimination. Somehow, killing humans just to feed from them didn't seem right to him, it seemed barbaric and cruel. After all, he was once a human too. He knew what it was like to have someone feed from you and killing you mercilessly. Except…he hadn't died. He'd been forced to turn into one of those that had attacked him in the first place.

Though sometimes, he would drink human blood. As because of new developments, he felt less bad about it. New laws were being passed. Laws for vampires. They were no longer allowed to kill, just take a little, heal the wound and then move on. Easier said than done, usually things were a big mess, what with all the screaming and swearing that took place. It wasn't as if you could just walk up to a human and say, "Hey! I'm a vampire! Can I feed from you?" It would be hilarious if you could, but he wouldn't have dared try it. The laws _had_ been passed because vampires didn't want to draw attention to themselves after all. 

By this time, he had reached the city, and he blinked as his eyes fell upon neon lights against neon lights. Well, first things first, he needed to find a place he could stay for two nights or so. He headed to the nearest place he could find, a run down seedy looking hotel. Not exactly classy but hey, it would do and it would suit his purposes. The man behind the desk glared at him, and the vampires stared back at him, momentarily appalled. The man's T-shirt was grey with old sweat, with disgusting smears of food on it. It looked as though all this man lived for was drink, as he guessed by the huge beer belly. 

Why the manager of the hotel employed a guy like him, was beyond the vampire, but beggars couldn't be choosers. But since when had he become a beggar? Oh what the hell, he needed to make his money last.

'Yeah? Wha' chew wan'?' The man spoke in a broad British accent, not the kind of a man from a well upbringing but more like the guy who'd be at the local pub from morning to night. Without waiting for an answer, the man flicked out a cigarette and lit it, breathing smoke directly into the vampire's face. He said nothing however but remained stock still as the smoke lifted in a haze.

'A room. Why else would anyone come here?' The vampire looked around slowly, at the paint peeling of the walls, the withering plants that had been placed there, probably in an effort to make the place look less of a prison and more homely. Well, they'd failed in that aspect. Somewhere, in the corner of the room, he thought he could see a cockroach. 

' 'ow long for?' Good question. He wasn't entirely sure. Would he take two nights or just the one? Best be safe.

'Two nights.' More cigarette smoke. Disgusting. The vampire narrowed his eyes as he was told the prices, the smoke rising yet again. He paid the money and picked up the key but paused.

            'What time do I have to check out by?'

            'Eleven in the mornin'.'

            'Couldn't you arrange it so then I could check out during the night?' The man looked at him suspiciously. The vampire impassively passed him two hundred dollars and raised his eyebrows. The man took the money and greedily counted it but then smiled, revealing yellowed teeth. 

            'I think I could manage that.'

            'Good.'

            'Enjoy your stay,' the man grunted. Yeah, right.

            Vampires…vampires…where were they? Another law that had been newly made; vampires had bad press already, they wanted to do nothing to attract attention to where they stayed. Especially when they were feared. Fear was worse than hatred. People killed that what they feared; wasps, bees, cockroaches…who was going to stop them from killing vampires? Beings that walked the night and were forced to rely on blood to survive. 

            The traveller blinked and then chuckled quietly to himself as he saw a billboard for the latest movie that was out. He stared at the demonic-like figure and read the title of the movie. Van Hellsing? The director had no clue about vampires. But then again, did anyone? Not really; vampires were beings that simply did not exist according to most people. 

            He stopped chuckling abruptly as he felt a presence around him. Vampires! He walked towards the presence and came to stand in front of a dilapidated building. He looked around to make sure no one was watching him and then slipped inside. 

            The bubble of chatter met his ears immediately, and his eyes grew accustomed to the dimness, lifted only by candlelight. People drank from glasses filled with a red substance. The vampire stared as though in bewilderment. Surely that couldn't be human blood. Where the hell would a vampire club like this get the blood from? 

            One of the vampires looked towards him and gasped, a high pitched sound. The sound caused the others to look in the same direction. Their eyes widened and they came towards him, like a powerful wave.

            'Reiko!' one cried. 'Is it really true? Did you kill Mostro?'

            'How long are you staying for?'

            'You've become almost legendary Reiko!' The vampire blushed as well as a vampire could and looked embarrassed. 

            'It…really wasn't anything,' he whispered. 

            'What do you _mean_? You killed the very demon that was killing _us_!'

            'Have a drink, Reiko! It's on me!'

            'No! I'm going to pay for his drink!' Reiko blinked and looked bewildered as he was pushed into a chair. Five glasses filled with blood were immediately set down in front of him. 

            'Where are you staying?'

            'Uh…' Reiko looked around desperately and then relaxed as he heard a booming voice shout.

            'Silence!' The crowd parted ways to reveal a broad shouldered vampire. He was old, about two hundred years or so. Reiko said nothing but smiled mildly as the other began laughing. 

            'I see that my clan has made you more than welcome.' The younger vampire only smiled. 'Come with me. I want to know the whole thing.' He snapped his fingers and one vampire loaded the various glasses onto a tray and led Reiko to the other's office.

            'It really is good to see you again, Augren.' Augren smiled and sat down opposite him. Reiko inspected the glasses and frowned slightly. 

            'What is this?'

            'It's blood.'

            'Yes…but…animal blood? Human blood? What?'

            'It's human blood.' Reiko looked confused. 

            'But…'

            'You know, there's a curious urban myth going around. That a vampire's bite is very, how should I say? Pleasurable.' Reiko frowned again.

            'That's sick.'

            'Well, it _can_ be. You'll find in this city that there are many willing to succumb to a vampire.'

            'You can't kill them.'

            'We don't. And we don't turn them into one of us either. Not unless it is absolutely necessary.' Reiko was silent as he looked down at his hands. Had it been necessary to turn him? What had he done to be punished? Augren frowned. 

            'You hadn't wanted to be turned, right?'

            'I had no say in the matter.'

'God, Reiko! You must have felt as though you'd been rap-'

            'Don't even go there.' He cut in too hastily, too sharply. Augren blinked and frowned at him but Reiko's face was a mask, he let nothing slip. The air was heavy with tension, the type you could slice a knife through. Augren suddenly chuckled.

            'You never cease to surprise us, Reiko. Only three years of age and already a leading figure. A head vampire. Usually, one has to be my age. Not only that, now you defeat Mostro!'

            'It really wasn't as great as you think, Augren.'

            'Nonsense. You still killed him and stood up to him when none of us would have dared to.'

            'You forget that he killed my parents and left me as an orphan.' Augren sighed softly.

            'That hurt will never leave you, will it?' Reiko shook his head.

            'No one can erase the past, Augren.' The older vampire nudged a glass closer to him, hoping to get him to drink some down, to ease his mind, to cheer him. 

            'You know…the respect you command is enormous, especially after everything you achieved.'

            'Again you forget. The whole of my clan was destroyed save for Remy and myself. Due to my folly, they perished.'

            'Everyone knows it wasn't your fault. You were betrayed. And now, people have been moving to your city, in the hopes they will join in a clan under your leadership.' Reiko looked up, questioning. 

            'The other heads have allowed this?' Augren nodded.

            'There's getting to be quite a lot more of us than before.'

            'Really? How come? Have the vampire hunters finally given up?' Augren laughed softly at that.

            'Oh no. Nothing like that. You see, Harpies have been disappearing.'

            'Harpies?' Augren laughed again at Reiko's puzzlement.

            'You are so young in so many ways. Harpies are our enemy. We can't drink their blood, it's poison to us. Unfortunately, it is difficult to differentiate between Harpies and Humans. Vampires unwittingly attack them and drink their blood, and die because of their mistake. This has been happening less recently because something, I don't know _what _has been preying on the Harpies.' Reiko sat silently for a while, thinking this over.

            'Is there no cure for their poison?'

            'Only the harpy can cure you. There's little chance that they will. The Harpies hate us as much as we hate them.' Augren was met with another frown.

            'And why is this?' Augren huffed out a chuckle. 

            'Time for a history lesson, or so it seems. Once upon a time-'

            'Don't you think I'm too old for fairytales?'

            'Compared to me you're but a baby.' Reiko scowled at him and Augren laughed again. 'Okay, once we treated each other with a kind of mild neglect but when it came down to the crunch, well, we'd come together and fight for the same cause. However, this all went horribly wrong when one vampire fell victim to a terrible blood lust he couldn't control and attacked a harpy. The poison killed our vamp, but the blood loss caused the harpy's death. The harpies were, needless to say, resentful and believed that as time went on, we would all become blood thirsty monsters. We in turn hate the harpies, because, in their bid to kill us, they seduced us into taking their blood. So many of us died at their hands.' Reiko sat back in his seat, his eyes pensive. 

            'What a waste of lives.' A silence fell between the two vampires. Reiko was the first to break it. 'Is there no chance to build up the alliance between harpies and vampires?' Augren sat up.

            'No one's really thought about it. There's just so much hatred between us. The harpies probably wouldn't want to listen; the belief is too strong in their minds.' Augren looked at him seriously. 'Why?' Reiko shrugged. Augren's face relaxed. 'You know…you've done so much for the vampire community…if you ever need a favour or anything, you can just ask.' Reiko met his eyes with his own.

            'Are you reading my mind?'

            'No. Why?'

            'Because I need a favour. In fact, it's not a favour. It's help.'

            'Reiko? _You_ need help?' Augren shook his head. 'Yet another surprise.'

            'I need to raise an army. A big one. I wish to find vampires who would be willing to fight with me.' Augren leant forward in his chair, his cornflower blue eyes boring into the younger vampire.

            'What's going on?'

            'Mostro was not the biggest threat. He was mighty but we faced a bigger foe. You have no doubt heard of Nelo Angelo?'

            'You fought him?' Reiko nodded. Augren breathed out, his eyes wide with surprise. 'My God!'

            'He was defeated. Before he died he let slip that he was serving a master of some sort and that she was gathering a huge army, putting together all the demons she could find. There is a great many who'll join her. The idea of gaining power, tearing into human flesh and having all bow down to them appeals to demons. It probably this promise of power that caused the Dark Knight to fight against us.' Augren looked serious.

            'This is indeed very grave.'

            'Yes, and if I don't find people to fight with us, the world will become a huge one. The humans would die out and because of it we'd die too.'

            ' "Us"?'

            'I am fighting alongside the legendary Dark Knight Dante, son of Sparda.'

            'Two legends fighting alongside each other.'

            'I'd like to debate that. I am no legend.'

            'I shall also fight with you Reiko, and my clan shall join you. Perhaps after this battle, you would wish to revise this idea of "legend".' Reiko downed the rest of the drink remaining in the glass, standing up to leave.

            'This is no battle, Augren. This is war.'


	3. Chapter 3

_Authoress Notes: Reiko, Lorelei and anyone else who doesn't go by the name Trish, Dante or Mundus or something from the two games belongs to me and me only. Anyone who tries to take them without asking me will get bitten. Wuf._

_ Iesha – don't ask me why exactly he is a legend because it might not be the answer you're looking for, if you know what I mean. ¬¬ Lmao! Anyway, hope you like this chapter as much as the last two._

_ A fan-(hugs a fan) They said they're a fan! Let's celebrate! Bustahead has been told she has an official fan! (is thrilled and happy and stuff) Hope you keep reading, Fan!_

_ Vampy Sparda – Um…how do I do it? I don't know. I wasn't even aware I was…I just write random crap, pray for the best, drink milk (strawberry of course) dance to Tupac and kick my bro from time to time. How do you get that funny humour of yours though, huh?_

_ Dragonlady9 - Reiko doesn't like biting people. You should know! Lol!_

_ Burryk –I sadly have exams coming up so I don't know how many chapters I can get out before I die. I'll try my best though! What day d'you break up on? Tell me and I'll get motoring. _

_ Kikoken: THANKS! (huggles) Do you have Yahoo? I do…WUF! Oh man I am not well._

_ Jade: HURRY UP AND UPDATE YOUR FIC! BOTH OF THEM! GROWL!_****

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**Chapter 3**

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Dante shook his head softly as though in disbelief as he watched the news. Apparently a town nearby, close to the beach had been flooded to ruin. There were several screenshots of wrecked houses, people that had drowned in their beds. He flinched as violent rain began crashing down against the windows and the ground. The sound deafened him, driving out all thought. Trish ran down the stairs, her eyes wide. She yelled something, but Dante couldn't hear what it was she was saying.

Then just as suddenly as it had started, it had stopped.

Trish looked up at Dante from where she was sitting on the couch.

'What the hell is going on?' Dante simply shook his head, amused that Trish had been scared by a bit of rain and then went outside. In the main town, he could see with his sharp vision how others had run outside to see what exactly had happened. The sun shone brightly, almost as though nothing had happened. But deep, wide puddles were on the ground, reflecting off different colours as they caught the brilliant glare of the sun.

Everything seemed so normal. So why was it that he felt that the atmosphere was charged with something supernatural? Not only that, but something felt horribly out of place. His eyes narrowed slightly and he sighed as he heard something thump to the side of the building. He paused seeing no damage to the building and then walked around to the other side, where his bike was parked.

Trish dashed outside as she heard Dante scream.

'MY BIKE!' She ground to a halt and stared wide eyed at the damage. Only two weeks ago, his bike had been dented badly. But now, it was even worse. Most of the paint had been chipped off by the force of the downpour, but there was a huge dent that bent the bike completely out of shape. It was obvious that the rain hadn't caused it. Dante fell to his knees beside his ruined bike.

'My God! My bike!' Trish snorted.

'After the way you treated it two weeks ago, it was in a pretty shoddy condition. Besides, it's not as if we can't afford a new one, especially since Reiko paid us in cash.'

'That's not the point! I treated that bike like my baby!' If there was one thing about men that Trish couldn't understand, it was the fact that they got so attached to vehicles so quickly.

'If that's the way how you'd treat a baby, I hope you never have any children.' Trish immediately bit her tongue at that last statement. Dante cast her a long look at that point and sighed turning his attention back to his bike. Her expression softened. 'Look. You can get a new bike. A much better one!' Dante pouted.

'Don't want a new bike.' Trish rolled her eyes to the heavens.

'Now you're acting childish. Come on, we can go down and get a Harley for you. How does that sound?'

'A silver one?'

'If we can find one, sure.' Dante smiled and stood up but stopped as he saw Trish frown. 

'What is-'

'Ssh!' She raised up a hand for silence. Dante tensed and strained his ears and heard it, a faint feeble moan. 

A girl lay in a sodden heap on the stone ground, copper streaked hair draped in ropy strands across her face and shoulders. Her clothes were absolutely drenched. She had come to land behind the fallen trashcans and she was bleeding heavily from her side and her head. Looked as though they knew what had caused the huge dent in the bike. Trish frowned and went to the girl's side.

'She's a human. She's hurt…but I don't think it's too serious.' Dante nodded softly, still standing close by his dead motorcycle. 'It would be nice if you could call an ambulance.' Dante shook his head. 

'I…don't think…'

'Just do it!' Dante sighed and walked off miserably to get his mobile phone. If Trish was being serious about the Harley Davidson, he'd _have_ to do what she said for at least a day. And then he'd stop. Simple.

Trish knelt down beside the girl and dabbed gently at the wound on her head, trying to clean it. The girl moaned again and her eyes fluttered open, emerald green and bewildered, afraid. Dante came out again and frowned.

'Who is she?'

'I don't know…she's…too weak to talk.' Within minutes, an ambulance arrived. Trish stood back and watched as she was loaded onto the stretcher, silently wondering to herself. _Who are you?_ She blinked when she felt something in her head speaking to her. 

_Lorelei…_

A paramedic turned to the blonde.

'Do you know her at all?' Trish blinked. 

'Uh…only by acquaintance. Her name is Lorelei…' The paramedic motioned for her to get into the ambulance and Trish complied and answered what she could of their questions, stating how she had found her and what condition she had been in when she had first found her and so on. 

Lorelei's eyes kept on drooping and she looked ready to fall asleep at any minute. Trish sighed and tried to keep Lorelei awake, thinking that perhaps the hit to the head had resulted in a concussion. Lorelei's eyes suddenly widened and looked at Trish and frowned. 

Something in her mind seemed to shatter into pieces of tinkling crystal. Screaming…such tears, fear, grief. The screaming. It wasn't ending. What was going on? Blood on the walls. Pools on the floor. Death hanging in the air. A high shrieking wind and then…flames?

Trish blinked and grabbed onto one of her hands as the girl struggled, her green eyes wide and filling with tears. She broke down into frantic tears, crying out words, barely coherent. 

'Please…please help me!' Trish blinked and frowned as she passed out, just before reaching the hospital. The paramedics ran her off into the emergency room immediately, leaving Trish to wait, already concerned and intrigued by this Lorelei.

After what seemed like an eternity, Trish was finally allowed to go and visit the girl, her having been established in a ward. She was awake, a bandage around her head and her arm in a sling. Her hair fell slightly into her eyes where it had escaped from the confines of the soft bandage. She looked frail, like a delicate child, or a porcelain doll but in spite of this, Trish could sense an underlying strength. 

Other people were around her bed, one woman talking animatedly to a nurse.

'Oh we've always been so _careful_ with Lorelei, especially since she's got a bit of a condition.' She breathed out the last word, as though it were forbidden, and that she'd be punished if she said it again, but yet she said it with a great deal of relish, as though proud of the word. Lorelei simply sat there meekly, her eyes staring straight ahead, as though watching something only she could see. There was another girl, who stood up as soon as Trish entered and glared at her, her eyes the same startling colour but narrower, hardened perpetually, cold.

'Who the hell are _you_?'

'Catherine!' The woman snapped but then smiled, the smile as sweet as sugar. 'You must excuse her, it's _hereditary_.' She laid a great emphasis on the word, again acting as though she enjoyed the sound of it, a childish pride in the word. Catherine said nothing, but continued to scowl and glare. She reminded Trish of a cat who was watching a defenceless bird, ready to pounce and sink its claws into flesh. Trish looked away from her and moved closer to the girl, but this simple movement seemed to agitate the woman.

'Be careful not to upset her! You might aggravate her!' It might have been funny if she hadn't looked so earnest, so agitated. Trish looked towards her and then looked back towards the girl. 

'Lorelei?' The girl's eyes focussed onto her instantly and she blinked. Sadness flashed in her eyes momentarily before she smiled, dazzling, wiping away the faint trace of…_something_…that had been there before.

'Hi, Trish!' she said brightly. Trish was momentarily taken aback; when had she ever told this girl her name? Lorelei smiled at her and then nodded her head carefully towards the others. 'That's my Mom and that's my sister, Cathy.'

'Catherine to all but her.' Her sister wasted no time in correcting Lorelei. The two started to move away from the bed.

'Now, Lorelei dear, don't over exert yourself, make sure you get plenty of rest and don't stay talking for too long. As soon as you feel tired, go to sleep. Don't want to be hurting yourself any further now, do we? We'll be back in time for dinner. We'll be sure to bring you your favourite. Chinese, isn't it? Right you are then!'

'Mother…_please_…' Catherine's bored tone, cut into her mother's animated chatter. 'Basically, we'll be back before the day ends.' She hustled her mother out of the ward. Trish stared after them, frowning slightly but then turned back to the girl, still feeling strangely concerned for her.

'You feeling okay?' Lorelei nodded and smiled. Trish's frown deepened. 'Why the hell is your Mom so worked up about "conditions"? And how did you know my name?' Lorelei's face blanched slightly.

'It…just came to me. Ignore my mother, she's been treating me like this ever since I was a child.' Trish kept frowning. Lorelei watched her steadily, with a kind of quiet dignity. 'I feel as though I can trust you, Trish.'

'How do you know my name?'

'If I tell you, you must promise not to breathe a word to anyone, for very few know and I don't want to be treated like some sort of freak.' She paused. 'Do you promise to me?' Trish folded her arms.

'Listen, if I need to tell someone else, I'll have to tell them. But I promise I won't tell people just for the hell of it.' Who the hell _could_ she tell anyway? It wasn't as if she had any friends really…save for two…

'I get feelings. Premonitions one could say. Ever had a feeling that something's going to happen, and then it does?' Trish nodded. 'I get a lot of those. Ever get the feeling you know what someone is called before you have been told? Because I get those too. I get visions.'

'So you have slight ESP powers. So what?'

'So that's what they call it. I thought I was a freak.'

'You'd be surprised how many people actually do have feelings like yours. So is that why your Mom keeps harping on about conditions and crap?' Lorelei shrugged. 

'I don't know to be honest.' Trish frowned at her.

'How old are you by the way?'

'Twenty.'

'Oh!' Trish tried to conceal her surprise but it was apparent that she had failed as Lorelei laughed openly.

'She _does_ baby me, doesn't she?' Trish nodded slowly. Lorelei certainly looked as though she were an adult, and she certainly seemed mature enough, but somehow, in the presence of her mother and the way she was being treated by her made her think that perhaps she was seventeen or so. Trish was brought sharply back into reality at Lorelei's next words.

'I think you may be able to help me with a problem I have.'

'Help you? Problem? What problem?'

'I saw a dragon and it attacked me.' Trish blinked.

'A dragon?' Lorelei nodded.

'Call me crazy if you wish, but I know what I saw. And…this may sound even crazier but I think you can help me.' A slow smile spread across her face. 'In fact, I _know_ you will.' Trish blinked and thought about this. It was certainly a strange case. But what was it Dante had kept saying to her ever since the incident two weeks ago? Believe everything, trust nothing.

'…' She handed the girl a card. 'Don't show this to anybody. We only take special cases. Ask for Dante Sparda and the password is "Hell's Angels".' Lorelei looked at the card curiously but then nodded. 

'Oh and Lorelei?'

'Yes, Trish?'

'Don't let your mother get you down.' Lorelei could only smile as Trish left the premises.

It looked as though there may be another case to solve.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4 is here…I don't know how long it will be before I can get the next chapter up on this site. Reason being I have big exams coming up. So show me some support I need. _

_ Reiko is of Japanese descent and therefore, he speaks some Japanese here and there. This becomes more marked as he becomes more and more under stress. In this case, Kuso means shit or damn or something to that effect._

_ Please enjoy the chapter and don't forget to review._

**Chapter 4**

****

'There is a council tonight my friend, but do not worry. I shall pass on your message to all the head vampires and I shall certainly tell you their judgement.' Reiko frowned at Augren, his hazel eyes serious, alarmed.

'A council? Aren't all the heads meant to be there?'

'Yes.'

'Then shouldn't I also go?'

'Well technically yes.'

'So why are you assuming I'll not come?'

'Because the vampires have already reached your city. Without a master, they could run rampant. I'm sure you wouldn't want that to happen.' Reiko felt torn. Either he should go to the council, and risk his vampires going out of control without a leading figure, or he could go to the city and risk having the Master Vampire pissed at him.

'_Kuso!_'

'Eh? What's that?' Reiko shook his head.

'Uh…nothing…nothing…' His mind continued to whirl. What to do? What to do?

'The Council would understand, Reiko. I mean, someone's got to go back to your city and lay down the law. Who better then the head of the city himself? The legendary Reiko?'

'Stop calling me legendary. You make me sound like a Circus Freak. "Come see the Legendary Reiko!" '

'You should really stop being so _bitter_, my friend.' Reiko scowled but then sighed, the anger leaving him suddenly, leaving his face looking tired.

'All right…' he sighed. 'So it is decided…I go back to my city…'

'And make sure that the vampires obey your rules.'

'You will make sure they hear my plea?'

'I'm sure they'll listen willingly. After all, you're le-'

'Save it.' Augren sighed.

'Something is wrong.' Reiko didn't meet his eyes. 'Tell me, what is it that worries you so?'

'I'm not worried.'

'Quite right. You're angered. But why?' Reiko shook his head slowly and sighed. Augren knew then and there that perhaps it would be better to leave the vampire alone for the time being. He passed Reiko a flask. Reiko looked at him questioningly.

'It's filled with human blood…so you stay well on the trip back home.' Reiko sighed but then smiled at him and took the flask.

'You've always known how much I hate having to hunt down humans.'

'You never kill them though, do you?' Reiko shook his head.

'I could never bring myself to knowingly kill a human.' His mind passed back to the time before when a blood lust had got so bad that he had killed a girl. He had ended up drunk because of it. After the incident, he knew that it was better to take a little at a time before he ended up killing someone else. The guilt he had been forced to live with had been unbearable. Even after Mostro's death, he felt as though he was being torn apart by grief. Augren's voice cut into his thoughts. He blinked at him.

'The officials know about our vampire community…but as we never take from someone who isn't willing, they leave us alone and pretty much to our own devices.'

'Isn't that in direct contradiction to the law?'

'Which?'

'The one that states we're meant not to draw attention to ourselves.'

'Vampires are the new "in" thing.' Reiko looked bitter and sighed.

'So we're reduced to fashion accessories now? Are two puncture marks in the neck a new fashion item? A new "Must-have"? Pathetic…' Augren frowned. 'I thought it was a shameful thing to be bitten by a vampire and turned into a child of darkness.'

'It was how you were born. Being bitten and turned was the way in which all of us got here.'

'Who said I ever wanted to be born? I want to die.'

'A good stake in the heart can sort that out.'

'Maybe so, but no matter what happens, I'll be damned.' He paused and then sighed. 'I'm sorry.'

'Given the circumstances and the coming predicament, it is understandable to be stressed. I take no offence.'

'No…I shouldn't be taking it out on you.' He shook his head softly and frowned. 'I should be thanking you for your help.'

'It is of no problem. You helped us all not too long ago, Reiko. Members of our race won't easily forget that.'

'Thank you for your help, Augren. I much appreciate it.'

'Think nothing of it. I am the one who is honoured to help you.' Reiko smiled and took his leave, leaving Augren to puzzle over the vampire's recent behaviour.

Once outside, Reiko felt himself beginning to wonder whether he was really doing the right thing by skipping the Council. The Council eliminated his ideas of continuing to search for willing vampires to fight for his cause. What would be the point of searching if all the heads were going to the Council? If all of them agreed to help him, their vampires would have no choice but to obey. Rebellion meant death in most cases. The only case that Rebellion hadn't ended in immediate death was between Reiko and Jaal. But he had perished at the end anyway so that pretty much ended the rebellion.

Augren _had _said that he'd ask the head vampires. Reiko knew that Augren was serious at heart, despite the jovial façade he often put on. He decided to go back home, seeing the wisdom in Augren's words. He had to keep his clan in check. Besides, he missed his friends. He still felt small pangs of regret when he remembered of how he had left them so suddenly, barely giving any time for Trish to get used to the idea as he became less a client and more a friend.

He uncorked the small flask and took a sip from the contents but then blinked and hastily put it back, wiping his lips, as he saw someone on the street at this late hour. No point in scaring the public…He tried to walk straight past her but instead she altered her course and came straight towards him, teetering on impossibly high heels, her clothes showing way too much skin.

'Hey _cuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuutie_!' she called in a high pitched voice, in his direction. Reiko ignored her and walked on, passing her by without saying a word. He blinked as he was brought to a sudden halt as the woman grabbed him by the wrist. Her grip was like steel, her nails digging right into his flesh, close to drawing blood. His eyes narrowed as he slowly, unwillingly turned to look at her.

'I want no trouble.' His voice sounded loud in the stillness of the night. He watched her impassively, and took in the cruel smile that had spread across the Harpy's lips. He made no move, his expression didn't change as the Harpy's grip tightened even more on his wrist, causing pain.

'I love preying on the younger vampires. And you? You're just a baby.' Reiko said nothing but stared into her eyes, trying to control her mind. The harpy blinked, feeling the sudden force on her mind. For a baby, the vampire was incredibly powerful. Reiko continued to keep the gaze, concentrating only on trying to overpower her with a mental attack.

'You will leave me be and any other vampire you come across.' His voice had grown in depth, sounding threatening and low. The Harpy blinked softly and nodded. Reiko pressed on but was distracted as he heard a sudden sound behind him. He turned, his concentration shattering.

'Reiko?'

'Augren!' The Harpy laughed suddenly, a sharp shrill sound. Reiko felt his power shattering and he fell to his hands and knees. The Harpy walked towards the two, her eyes glittering with hate.

'Every time a vampire tries to deploy an attack on a Harpy and the Harpy fights it off, your energy gets drained. Perhaps it doesn't happen to you when you fight a demon but then again, they're not equals in terms of mental prowess.' Reiko continued to pant but quickly regained his energy. The Harpy turned towards Augren and smiled, her eyes turning into a deep sea-green hue. Augren shuddered and felt himself falling to the ground, convulsing. Reiko stared, his hazel eyes widening before he got to his feet, turning to face the Harpy again. He was barely able to register the Harpy moving as he tried to keep one eye on Augren's condition.

Green eyes met with hazel.

'I sense you're still hungry.' She was trying to reverse the attack, and Reiko was the victim. He felt himself taking a step forwards, even though his mind screamed at him not to obey.

'No!' He growled, the sound coming from low in his throat. 'I just fed.'

'I'm sure you can manage a little more.' Reiko felt himself taking another step forwards. He shook his head, his mind fighting against that of the Harpy's. with a loud cry, he sunk his nails into his wrist, drawing blood. Pain freed him from the mental hold. This time, it was the Harpy's turn to fall to the ground. Reiko fell backwards and landed with a thump, panting some himself, his head pounding madly. The Harpy soon recovered and glared at him.

'You're just a baby! That other vampire couldn't resist me! How is it that you can?!' The Harpy cannoned towards him, shrieking.

Reiko cried out loudly as he fell to the ground, pinned down under the Harpy's weight. He thrashed his head from side to side, desperate to escape before she re-launched her mental attack. God, he'd never felt such strength. He had thought that only vampires possessed that kind of mental strength. He had been wrong.

The Harpy's eyes glared at him again, still that weird sea-green colour. Reiko closed his eyes tight and rested his head so then one cheek lay against the cold stone ground.

'How could you?!' She lifted his shoulders up, causing his head to follow and slammed him down on the ground. His head thudded painfully onto the ground, causing him to cry out in pain. 'How?!' Reiko snarled as his head crashed against the ground again. Black spots were appearing in front of his eyes. He glared up at her, his vision blurring.

'I'm an exception! You're talking to the youngest head vamp.' His voice shook with exhaustion but his eyes burnt with anger, and fierce pride. The Harpy bent down over him and blinked.

'You resisted my powers…and now I know why. I can see it in your eyes.' She let him go and moved off him, suddenly flouncing away into the darkness. Reiko watched her go and slowly sat up, his head pounding. It felt as though there was a little animal scratching away at his eyes from the inside of his skull. He stood up unsteadily, tottered about before falling to a crumpled heap on the ground.

'His first encounter with a Harpy and he resists?'

'Aye.'

'He wishes to fight in a war, leading an army of Vampires?'

'He does not wish for there to be a war. But there inevitably will be one. It is indeed his wish to lead an army of Vampires into war and presumably to victory as well.' The vampire stood stiffly in the centre of the hall. His mind began to wonder until his thoughts turned to Reiko and Augren. Augren was in a terrible condition. He had been almost comatose by the time he had been dragged back. When he had left to go to the Council, he had still been convulsing. Reiko however, had been half awake, though too tired to move. He seemed to have had no great injuries, just a bump on the head. He blinked softly as the Master suddenly began talking again, causing the other vampires that had been whispering amongst themselves to fall silent.

'I think it is time we try to renew our old alliance with the Harpies.' The younger vampire blinked in astonishment.

'What?!'

'Reiko is the first vampire who has been able to withstand a Harpy attack without serious injury. What ailment does he have?'

'A headache, sir.'

'A headache is nothing compared to what injuries he _should _have sustained. The Harpies are becoming dangerous foes. Far better for us to have them as friends. Therefore, Reiko shall be our delegate. He shall bring the two races together.' There were murmurs of approval. The spokesperson looked irritated.

'Aren't we getting off the point? Reiko needs help!'

'Aye and we'll give him help, only if he can do this for the Vampirical Race.'

'Hasn't he already done enough for the Community? He got rid of Mostro, didn't he?' There was a silence. The Master stood up.

'I stand by my decision. Those who wish to help him can, but he won't receive my official word of approval until the alliance is rebuilt. Dismissed!'

'Can you even _believe_ what they're asking you to do? Don't you understand the _risks _you're taking?' Reiko nodded softly, holding an icepack to his forehead. 'Be reasonable, Reiko! They could kill you!'

'They won't, Zantro.'

'And how can you be so sure of that?'

'I just know they won't. If they can kill me, I can kill them. I didn't kill that Harpy last night so surely that can count for something?'

'What d'you mean?'

'I spared a Harpy's life so the Harpy will spare mine.' Zantro shook his head, annoyed.

'You're impossible!'

'Sometimes, you have to be impossible to do the impossible.'

'You're a fool! Please! Reconsider this! The community would suffer if we lost you!'

'Yeah right…'

'You killed Mostro, didn't you?' Reiko chose to ignore this.

'I might need some use of this allegiance. Besides, I need _every_ vampire's help; not just the ones that choose to come.'

'Everyone but the Master _is_ going to help you!' Reiko shook his head.

'I still want this alliance.' Zantro sighed and watched him as he discareded the ice pack and took off again.

'If this works, Reiko…you'd be a miracle worker.' Reiko said nothing. On retrospect, Zantro didn't think that Reiko had heard him.

Maybe it was for the best he didn't.


	5. Chapter 5

_ I'm sorry to say that this is the last update for this fic you'll be seeing for a while. I'm discontinuing it for the meantime, but trust me, updates WILL continue. In the meantime, I have to put two other fics up on fanfiction.net. I'm sorry to say this if you hate Arson, but you might have to read a couple of chapters from them to understand the theory behind some of the next fics in the Dark Legion series. I've already pre-written these and it should keep you guys going until my exams finish and until I can dedicate my time to my writing. Thanks for the co-operation. _

**Chapter 5**

****

Lorelei blinked as she made her way to the building she had been washed up against a few days ago. In the daylight, the building looked anything but imposing. It just looked old, abandoned and somewhat shoddy. A perfect place for spiders and cockroaches and whatnot to reside. She looked down doubtfully at the little card she held faithfully in her hand, as though it would ward off all evil.

Was this really the place that Trish had told her to come to? The card said it was. She looked up at the building again and swallowed hard. It had such a ramshackle quality, but it was not this that scared her. It was the feeling of something strange, something unknown.

She looked up at the building again as night fell and as the neon lights came on. It seemed as though it was brand new; all the letters were present and lit and from what she had seen the other day, the picture of the woman posing had been changed to a man aiming a gun. She looked around nervously and smiled as she saw the bike. It appeared as though Dante had quickly replaced it with a silver Harley. She blinked.

Dante Sparda…The name sounded familiar to her. She had heard someone other than Trish mention the name but she couldn't remember who and why and in what sort of context the name had popped up. Whatever it was, Lorelei knew of only one thing. The name Sparda whispered of mysteries and of things little known.

Finding nothing else that could possibly stall her, she forced herself to walk up to the door. She timidly knocked on it and waited. There was no answer. She turned to go but then remembered the dragon and frowned. How many more cities would be flooded because of her? If she didn't ask this Dante for help, then many lives would be lost.

She turned back and this time rang the doorbell, somewhat surprised there was one on such a building. She gasped in surprise as the door was suddenly whipped back. Aquamarine eyes glared at her. She stepped back and tried to see past the silver-haired man that had appeared before her, trying to see whether Trish was behind him.

'I'm an atheist!' The man suddenly proclaimed loudly. Lorelei blinked.

'Really?'

'Yeah so take your pamphlets and leaflets and piss off!' She blinked in bewilderment as the door slammed shut in her face. She glared in annoyance and knocked again, this time standing her ground as the door opened again.

'I have no pamphlets! Or didn't you see that?' The eyes narrowed and he prepared to slam the door again. Lorelei quickly stepped in the way of the door and took a deep breath. 'Hell's Angels.' The man paused and then let the door swing fully open, revealing himself.

The first thing Lorelei noticed was the guns. She swallowed hard.

'I seek the man they call Dante Sparda.' She was ashamed to admit that her voice was shaking with fear as she whispered this. The blue eyes narrowed and he stepped back, letting her inside. He shut the door behind her and leant against it casually, folding his arms. Lorelei couldn't take his eyes away from his guns.

'C-c-c-could you t-tell me where I c-could fi-find him?' She stuttered. She lowered her eyes as the man gave vent to a laugh.

'You're lookin' at him, doll.' She wrinkled her nose. "Doll" was not one of her preferred nic-names. But if this man would help her, she'd let it slip this once.

'So, what's the problem, babe?' Lorelei frowned at him and then found herself frowning at the matter in hand. Her story sounded crazy. How could she possibly word this? She decided she'd just go for it and hope for the best.

'I saw a dragon. It rose out from the sea. There was a man there and he was playing a flute. The dragon was listening to him, he was controlling it.' She paused for breath. Dante frowned, his eyes suspicious, unsure. 'There were boats at sea, and it destroyed them and drowned all those men. They were innocent! Then it attacked me by launching a tidal wave. It washed me away and it flooded the entire city centre. The power of it was so strong that it washed me all the way over here, and it made me land against your bike, which I'm _really _sorry about by the way. If it could drown a city in one go, then I think it should be stopped before it can do anything else.' She stopped and watched him expectantly, hopefully, knowing full well her story seemed ludicrous. Hell, it sounded unbelievable to her own ears, and she knew for a doubt that what she saw was true. Dante quirked his eyebrows, but the rest of his face looked impassive, veering on the edge of boredom.

'Let me get this straight. You saw a dragon.'

'I did.'

'That came from the _sea_.'

'I did.'

'Do you _really _expect a professional to fall for a _prank_? Come on, you could at _least _make it believable.'

'It's _not _a prank! It's the truth!'

'Yeah…okay…whatever…' Boredom. Definitely boredom. Lorelei stamped her foot down in frustration and blushed realizing how childish that seemed.

'I gave the password didn't I?' Dante frowned at her.

'A dragon. From the sea. Dragons are creatures of fire.'

'This one isn't! Please! You've _got _to help me!' Dante opened the door.

'I ain't got to do nothing, babe.' Lorelei glared at him.

'Don't call me babe!' She snapped. 'I gave the password! If I hadn't, I'd understand why you don't trust me, but as the very first thing I did was give the password you should _trust_ me at least!'

'Babe, I-'

'_Don't call me babe!_ What do I look like, a pig?!'

'Do you really want me to answer that? Most women are flattered when I call them babe.' He was smirking arrogantly. Lorelei glared again. How to wipe his smile from his face without provoking him into drawing his guns?

'I'm not a woman!' There that should do it! But wait…why was Dante looking confused? Oh shit. 'No…I mean…I _am _a woman but not your usual type of woman.' Dante continued to stare at her with that same sceptical look.

'So what _are_ you then?'

'What I _meant _to say was that I'm not the kind of woman who'd be flattered by stupid nic-names like Doll, Babe and stuff like that.' Dante folded his arms.

'You could have saved yourself some grace by just saying in that whiny voice of yours, "I'm not _most_ women!" or something idiotic like that.' Lorelei glowered at him. 'Your glaring's good. Keep working on it and perhaps you'll freeze water.'

'Shut up.'

'If you're trying to get me to help you you're not doing a good job of it.'

'I gave the password.'

'But there are no such things as dragons.' Lorelei and Dante turned as thy heard a new voice.

'Just like how there isn't meant to be such things as Vampires, angels, demons, sirens…' Lorelei smiled gratefully at Trish, relieved. 'She _does _have the password Dante. And that entitles her case to be investigated.'

'Since when have you started using long words?' Trish shrugged, her face emotionless.

'I suppose you could say since I discovered I am partial to extensive expression.' Dante shook his head and stalked off, grumbling about dictionaries or some such other issue. Lorelei smiled at Trish again.

'Thank you.'

'It's no problem.'

'…is he _always _like that?'

'Only at first so don't worry about it. You just need to know how to deal with him.'

'Yeah don't worry about it. I know that at first, Dante can be a bastard but once you get on his good side, he's a loyal friend and a friend for life.' Lorelei turned to see a man standing directly behind the two. It was strange, neither of them had heard him come in. He moved closer towards them, his feet making no noise, as soundless as a cat, in fact, he seemed to be gliding instead of walking. The grace in his movements was pronounced and Lorelei watched him fascinated.

The man laughed suddenly, a soft sound, little more than a whispered chuckle.

'Don't look at me like that, Trish. I had to do what I had to do. I gave you the money didn't I?' Lorelei blinked and looked towards Trish as she listened in with interest. Was this man an ex or something? Who had given back whatever he had owed? Or had Trish done something like a sexual favour? Certainly the clothes Trish wore weren't exactly concealing. And with the man's looks, she wouldn't have been surprised if it was something like that. The man's black hair flopped into his hazel eyes and he smiled at Trish again. Lorelei blinked. Were those…?

She jumped backwards, standing up, backing away. The vampire's eyes widened slightly, surprised. He lowered them and looked away, realizing. He had been too careless. This new surge of confidence he had felt since he'd known Trish and Dante was beginning to make him less than cautious. He sighed and remained tight-lipped. Trish noticed the change immediately and cuddled him, frowning when he turned rigid in her arms.

'Aw Reiko. She doesn't know any better.' Lorelei glanced from Reiko to Trish and then back.

'He's a vampire!' Trish smiled and nodded.

'A head vampire, actually. All vampires in the city answer to him.'

'Trish…'he murmured softly, warningly. His eyes kept lowered. What the hell had he been thinking? That he could act normal when he was anything but? Even smiling was something that was denied. What had he been thinking? How had he become so careless? The girl continued to gawp at him.

'He doesn't bite for the hell of it,' Trish continued. Why was she talking about him like some kind of dog? No…she wasn't…he was just so tense. He needed to calm down. He slowly raised his eyes and stood up.

'You have nothing to be afraid of,' he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. Lorelei stared into his eyes. They were mild, almost harmless but they reflected a lake of sadness, deep, bottomless. She nervously smiled at him.

'It just shocked me at first.'

'You're not the first to say that,' came the soft spoken reply. Blood on the walls, the floor, in the kitchen. Lorelei blinked and shuddered. Reiko continued to watch her, slow puzzlement spreading across his sharp features. His attention was quickly averted as Dante re-entered.

'Well look who's back…how did things go?' Reiko stood him, his face grim, his eyes serious.

'In some aspects good, but in others? Not as well as I first hoped.' Dante waited, expecting a proper explanation. Reiko regarded him silently but then slowly began to pace noiselessly. 'The head vampire of the next state, Augren, gave me his word that his clan would fight with us. Unfortunately, the Master wants me to form a bond between harpies and vampires. Only then will it be compulsory for every vampire to fight for us.'

'We need all the help we can get. What's so bad about trying to form this alliance?'

'The two races hate each other.'

'So the Master decides to add his problems to your burden. Get rid of the Harpy threat and you get an army.'

'Precisely.' Dante shook his head slowly. Reiko sighed heavily as he continued to pace. Dante could see out of the corner of his eyes that Lorelei was still watching Reiko's every move, like a mouse hypnotised by a snake. Though looking at Reiko he'd be more inclined to say that he was more feline then serpentine. Whatever…

'I know virtually nothing about harpies. I only know that their blood is poison for vampires. They're extremely powerful. I fought a Harpy the other day. Her mental powers outweighed my own. I need to train.' Dante looked thoughtful.

'I'll see what I can find out about harpies.' Reiko nodded gravely.

'I thank you.' Trish blinked and looked towards Lorelei, who was still watching Reiko. Reiko apparently hadn't noticed.

'I haven't introduced you two properly. You're not the only ones with problems, Reiko. Lorelei is a new client of ours. She saw a dragon the other night.' Reiko blinked softly.

'A dragon?' Trish nodded and turned to Lorelei.

'Reiko is a past client and a good friend.' Lorelei nodded.

'And a vampire,' she muttered to herself. Reiko said nothing but glanced at her, hurt. Well, what else did he expect? He berated himself, annoyed. Lorelei's body suddenly jarred and she stood up. Crying. Snow falling. Mountains…Reiko suddenly loomed in front of her, frowning.

'Are you all right?' She blinked and stared into his eyes. Tears. Crimson tears. The rain pounding, his hazel eyes glazed over in death, blood draining out onto the concrete ground.

'I'm fine.' A slow nod. He turned away from her and looked towards Dante.

'I better take my leave.' He turned and walked towards the door but turned before he went out. In his eyes, Lorelei could see faint traces of a smile. 'It was good seeing you two again. It was nice meeting you, Lore.' He left and seemed to melt into the shadows. Trish frowned and Lorelei and pushed her. Dante raised a brow.

'I think, until we learn more about this case that Lorelei had better stay here with us. In case this dragon decides to attack.' The two women nodded. Lorelei peered out through the window into the darkness but could see nothing of the mysterious man. She frowned. She didn't like him. There was something about him she didn't like. It could be the fact that he was a vampire, a being of evil, a being that fed on blood to survive. Whatever it was, she couldn't trust him.

However, she couldn't help but wonder whether her dreams had been about him. Could it be..?


	6. Chapter 6

_Bloody Hell it's been a long time! Anyways, I've finally managed to catch up with this fic and tackled it to the ground. I just need to keep writing. Luckily I have Vacation from 15th July onwards so expect more to come from me. Hope you guys enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed writing this._

_Disclaimer: All of Devil May Cry's characters belong to them. I.e. Dante and Trish. Everyone else is mine. BWAHA!_

_Much thanks to all those who reviewed. Yes, Iesha. That includes you even though I always give you a huge hug at college for it. Bwaha._

_This chapter is dedicated to Dragonlady9…she knows why. Also, a big welcome back to Burryk and Mip the Demon Fox. Congrats to Burryk for getting her own computer! HOO HA!_

_Without further ado, here's the chapter you may or may not have been waiting for! Enjoy! And don't forget to click on that little button at the end which says Submit Review, yah?_

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**Chapter 6**

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The night was like a thick blanket that was covering the small part of the world Dante happened to be living in. He stared out of the window, into the dizzying myriads of stars, the look in his eyes distant, distracted. Trish had seen that look all too often and hadn't bothered him. Lorelei frowned slightly.

'Is he okay?' Trish nodded quietly. 'He looks stoned.' Trish smiled thinly at that but the smile didn't reach her eyes. Lorelei sighed and looked around in boredom. The TV was on but it was switched only to the news. There had been no other sightings of the dragon; it seemed as though she had been the only one blessed or cursed -depending on how one may see the situation- to see the cause of the destruction.

Dante sighed suddenly, the sound soft but sudden, having the effect of making the girl jump.

'Trish. I'm going to go.' Trish looked up and blinked.

'Will they let you in at this time?' Lorelei's eyes slid to the clock, confused. It was past midnight. Was Dante going to a bar? Wouldn't they all be closed by this time?

'Probably not but I'll find a way.'

'Be careful.' Lorelei cocked her head to one side, quizzically. Did Dante have links to the city? Did he use special methods of getting what he wanted? Like pulling a gun out on the bouncer or something? Was he really an alcoholic? She looked at Trish nervously, but Trish wasn't looking in her direction. The expression on her face seemed resigned, almost sorrowful. Lorelei looked back towards Dante but found to her surprise that he had already gone out into the night. She strained her ears, and she could dimly hear the roar of a brand new motorbike fade into the distance.

Trish rose slowly and walked towards the bookshelves, dragging out old volumes of books, some with dust flying off the pages the books contained within them. Lorelei watched her mutely but flinched every time the books were thrown down.

Dust flew up into the air into clouds. Lorelei watched as they formed and made strange swirling patterns in the air. She blinked, and rubbed at her eyes. Trish looked at her sharply.

'If you don't like dust you can close your eyes.' Lorelei blinked at her again.

'I…thought I saw something…' Trish frowned.

'Like what?'

'A face.' Trish blinked and stared at her as though she had gone mad. 'A woman's face. It was cruel and…well…'

'Devilish?'

'No. Just evil…filled with wicked intent.' The two were silent. Trish's thoughts started to whirl. Could it be that Lorelei was beginning to have visions of what might be the leader of this army? Or was she just imagining things? God, she didn't know. She really didn't know. Trish looked at the young girl. She was –what? Only twenty or so, right? She shouldn't get messed up in this. The army was none of her business.

But then again…how old was Reiko? He was twenty-three. He was too young for this too. But he was immortal in a sense of the word. Age would not kill him and he could bounce back from virtually anything. Why then, did she have the feeling that Lorelei would somehow get involved?

* * *

****

'Dragons…dragons…dragons…dragons…' Dante had returned from wherever it was he had gone. Much to Lorelei's surprise, she couldn't smell any alcohol on his breath.

'Repeating the word isn't going to make you find anything any quicker…'

'Shut up!' Dante glared at Trish and continued to flick through the pages of several old musty books. Trish sighed and then rolled her eyes. Lorelei was beginning to get used to Trish rolling her eyes every five seconds. It seemed to have become something of a trait; she seemed to constantly repeat the action. Though she could understand why; Dante did have a habit of trying to annoy her intentionally.

'Found it!' Dante yelled suddenly, triumphantly. Lorelei looked up at him and Trish got up off the couch and practically bounded towards him. She peered over his shoulder and began reading from the book.

' "Dragons. Despite the fact that they are widely associated with fire, this is not always the case. There are many different types of dragons, many of which control different elements such as water, thunder, air and earth and of course, fire. Dragons used to be thought to create thunderstorms and offerings would be made to a dragon shrine in certain villages, in the hopes that the dragon would take pity on them and choose not to display its wrath.The dragon's body is covered with tough, shiny scales, however they do not usually have this scaly armour on the neck or stomach. A healthy dragon's scales are usually vivid and bright in colour. However, in a sick dragon, the colour is usually tarnished and dull. Contrary to popular belief, the dragon's colour does not consist of just one shade. Depending on how the light falls on the dragon, the shades of each scale differs but remain within the same colour. For example, a blue coloured dragon will have shades ranging between mother-of-pearl and navy blue.

' "Dragons are also known to respond to music and sometimes, it is possible to control a dragon through the playing of a musical instrument, as is the same with serpents. Because of this link scientists have believed that snakes have been evolved from dragons. Dragons play a huge part in mythology and-" Damn this is stupid. This says nothing of interest. It doesn't tell us anything about how to kill a dragon easily.' Trish blinked up at Dante and pouted.

'Trish, our kind of job is _never_ easy. What made you think that this one would be?'

'That book was wrong,' said a voice suddenly. Trish and Dante looked up, surprised. Trish looked at Dante sheepishly, she had forgotten totally about Lorelei. She slowly sat up, her eyes serious.

'What do you mean the book was wrong?'

'What do you _think_?' Lorelei's voice had turned snippy, clearly annoyed. Dante glared at her.

'In what _way_ was the book wrong?'

'This dragon was covered from head to toe with scales. There _were _no weak points!'

'And how do you know?'

'I know this! I saw it! You didn't!'

'And how close did you get to the thing?'

'Close enough.'

Trish stared between the two. Lorelei's eyes glittered with anger. Dante's face was neutral.

'So we researched for nothing?' His voice was close to being angered and Trish knew only too well why this was. Dante had a huge aversion to studying and using books. He'd rather learn the hard way and nearly get killed rather than looking in a book first.

'I wouldn't say that. At least we've learnt a little more about dragons. They are elemental beings. We could use this to our advantage.' Trish looked towards Lorelei, searching for agreement. Instead, much to her disappointment, Lorelei looked gloomy.

'Water is everything. It is both life and death. I don't think it has a weakness.' A strange look had passed over Dante's face at her words but the expression then seemed to dissolve into nothing. Lorelei continued. 'Even if it did, it would be electricity. Somehow I don't think that life is as simple as a game of Pokemon. Besides, where the hell are we going to get enough electricity to kill off the dragon if it _is_ as simple as playing Pokemon?'

'I don't know…' Trish sighed.

Lorelei continued to look moody but she blinked with surprise as she heard Dante's voice suddenly sound from directly behind her. 'You said you saw the man who controlled the dragon, right?'

'Yes…' Lorelei nodded.

'Tell me. What did he look like?'

There was a silence but then Lorelei blinked and her eyes brightened. 'He had

blonde hair and these gray eyes. He had a scar running down his face.'

'A scar?'

'Yeah. It ran down from his left eye to just at his jaw bone.' Lorelei looked towards Dante who handed her a notepad that Trish had got out. It was a surprisingly accurate picture of the man that Lorelei had seen that night. 'That's him! Wow Trish! You're really good at drawing!'

She beamed at Trish, who in turn grinned at Dante. However, the red-clad Devil Hunter was silent but he suddenly turned and stared at the door of Devil May Cry, which had suddenly opened to reveal a squat short woman. Trish slowly noticed her and frowned, which in turn, caused Lorelei's attention to turn to the woman who stood framed by the door. A look of horror passed over her face.

'Mother!' The woman's face was like a thunderstorm as she barged straight in and headed directly for Lorelei, who backed away from her in response, her face had shock stamped all over it.

'Lorelei Avalon! Do you have any _IDEA _how_ worried_ I've _been_?!' Lorelei tried to swallow her shock and replaced the expression with a bored appearance.

'Do you have any inkling that I may have grown up?' She shouted. Her mother snorted with contempt at the idea.

'What on _earth_ are you saying? Can you even register the words coming out of your mouth? It's not right for you to be here in your condition!' Dante frowned and took a step forwards, so then he was standing slightly in front of Lorelei. The woman glared at him and then stared at Trish, her eyes critical. 'And who the hell are these _people_?' She spat out the word people as though it was a word she was struggling to use correctly, as though the two were anything _but _"people". Lorelei's green eyes blazed with a fury that Dante thought was impossible to see in a face like hers.

'I am twenty years old, mother!' She practically spat out the last word. 'I choose where I go and do what I please!'

'But in your condition…'

'What _is _this condition anyway? You've always been treating me different!'

'Differently, darling…' Her mother corrected her absently.

'Whatever!' Silence fell. Lorelei took another breath. 'How did you find this place anyway?' Her voice shook with fury. Her mother simply smiled at her.

'You're my daughter, love. Of _course_ I'd know whereabouts you are!' Dante's eyes narrowed as he looked at her. Plump, smiling, rosy-cheeked. Stereotypical English Nanny or Nurse. Too wholesome, too nice. Something was up. Something felt wrong. Lorelei continued to glare at her mother, even as she turned to look at Dante.

'I'm sure you're a nice bloke and all but we really must be going.' Avalon smiled at him.

' 'Fraid that won't be happening,' Dante drawled in response. 'She has to stay. Security measures. Don't want her getting killed, do ya?' The woman scowled, causing Dante's eyebrows to quirk. English Nannies didn't suddenly scowl like that, did they?

'I'm sure you don't wish to be either, Mr…'

'Sparda. Is that a threat, Mrs..?'

'_Ms. _Avalon. And think of it as a warning.' Dante was given another sugar coated smile. He didn't buy it. Not at all. His eyes narrowed as Ms. Avalon turned her glance to Lorelei. 'Come along now, poppet.'

'_Mom!_' Lorelei's American accent seemed to clash with her mother's English one. Dante watched the young girl get hustled off by her overbearing mother. He signaled for Trish. She simply nodded and then followed them from a safe distance.


	7. Chapter 7

_Okay so here is Chapter 7. I'm hoping everyone is okay with understanding the plotline and stuff. Anyways, I must say that Iesha gave me some help with this chapter, telling me when certain sentences sounded "wrong" and when people were beginning to become a little OOC (Out Of Character for you, Burry :P) _

_Anyway, Iesha constantly comments about Lorelei and her muttering under her breath "Lorelei is stupid" gave me loads of inspiration as well for this Chapter. Don't worry…she'll get better._

_Thank you to anyone who may read this chapter, and a great big thank you to those who review._

_Stick with me, this WILL get better for those of you who may think it is crap!_

_Reiko: Uh huh? Suuuure…_

_Lorelei: CONDITION! CONDITION!_

_Reiko: …-.-; (attacks Dyne)_

_Japanese words you ought to know:-_

_Hausu = house_

_jajauma = bitch, or shrew or unmanageable woman_

_kutabare = fucker_

**Chapter 7**

The guild had been reinstated with the arrival of the new vampires. Reiko stood on the first floor, his hands resting lightly on the metal railing of the old abandoned factory, his hazel eyes neutral as he surveyed the masses that were streaming in through the hidden door. Remy stood by his side but slowly looked up at him. 

'So…quite a big turn out.'

'More than I was expecting.' Reiko agreed. He watched them quietly, hidden by the shadows. None of the other vampires seemed to notice him. Remy smiled at Reiko.

'So, how does it feel to be a real leader again?' Reiko said nothing but continued staring over the rail.

'I can't let them down.'

'You didn't let any of them down before, Reiko.'

'They died because they followed me blindly. They died because of my folly.'

'See this as a chance to redeem yourself.'

'Even if I do, it won't bring back those lives that were lost.' He grew quiet again and his eyes turned far away. _Lives that were lost…_funny that. Life as a vampire could hardly be classified as life. It was more a punishment. But what had he done to gain this injustice? He didn't know. It was best not to think about it. It was best to look ahead and deal with the current events.

The vampire crowd milled around uncertainly below him, and Reiko felt his stomach clench quite suddenly as Remy looked up at him again.

'They grow impatient. It is time.' Reiko nodded softly.

'I know…I just hope I know what I'm doing, and that they do not desert me in my time of need.' Remy frowned at that.

' "Time of need"? What do you mean?' Reiko didn't answer him but stepped out of the shadows, cutting an impressive figure dressed in all white, the colour of his hair contrasting. Ironically, he looked as though he were a holy being, instead of one that was usually associated with evil.

Silence fell amongst the vampires, but it was only momentary before wild cheers hailed him. He stood there, his eyes widening only slightly, barely noticeable. Behind him, Remy smiled with pleasure. Reiko stared down at them before smiling mildly. This was all that was needed. Silence fell slowly, reluctantly, but despite this, Reiko could feel the air humming with the collective anticipation of all the vampires assembled. Sudden fear clenched at his stomach again but shortly released it as he began to address the masses.

'My friends, I thank you for placing your trust in me. However, let it be known that danger lies ahead of us all. Those who fear their renewed lives coming to an end should leave. For all who remain shall fight with me. If you do not want this, leave now, for you shall not get the opportunity to do so later. Once you decide to stay, there is no turning back. There is no way you can back out of your commitment.' Everyone fell silent, and from his vantage point, Reiko watched the vampires look at one another, daring them to move if they so wished.

'Do not be afraid. If you leave, no one shall be sent to come after you and kill you for mutiny. However, I cannot allow any deserters to remain in the city. You will have to leave and join someone else. If you do come back and try to cause a rebellion, you will not be forgiven.' Remy blinked as Reiko finished speaking. So, Reiko had learnt from his past mistake…

Reiko saw that no one moved, and the uneasy looks had ceased to exist. He blinked once, but tried not to show his surprise. Remy watched as he shifted his stance slightly and knew immediately that Reiko had lost much confidence during the past few weeks. It seemed as though he still had not regained all of it.

To the other vampires, however, they saw nothing of this. They saw only their leader, only the legendary face, and the figure of the one who would lead them through all dangers, and through to safety. Reiko took another deep breath.

'You all would no doubt know of the threat of the Harpies.' There was an excited babble, that drowned out his voice. Reiko paused, and his eyes narrowed. Apparently, no one noticed. His eyes flared crimson quite suddenly.

'SILENCE!' he roared. The sound carried, echoed off the walls and the ceiling and all noise was shattered. The vampires cowed down, and all eyes returned to Reiko. Dark shadows circled around him, in a display of his power. It was only then, that they realized exactly how powerful he was. Reiko gave another cat-like hiss before his eyes returned to their normal hazel. Everyone was struck mute.

'Our Lord and Master Vampire, has given me the task to reforge the alliance that once was between the Vampires and the Harpies. If you oppose me in any way, you oppose the Master Vampire. You must leave.' He watched with no apparent surprise as a few vampires left the premises. Even so, there were still many who stared up at him avidly. Reiko slowly walked down the stairs, his eyes serious, his face set in a look of grim determination. Remy followed him immediately, wordlessly, his eyes glimmering faintly with crimson light. When Reiko came to a halt at the bottom of the stairs, so did he.

Reiko looked around calmly.

'There's going to be a few changes around here. We may have new laws, but we have no enforcers of these laws. As of this moment, I have appointed Remy as "Chief Enforcer" of this city. He will choose forty vampires, all of whom will cover a particular area of this vast city. If any of you break the laws you will have to answer to me.' There was an ominous silence after this last statement. Reiko looked around again and surveyed the shocked faces. He smiled.

'That is all. You are dismissed.'

* * *

Afterwards, Reiko walked towards Devil May Cry during the night, his feet dragging slightly. The night was clear, but the wind blew at him fiercely, first from one direction and then as soon as he got used to the force, it would change to another. As he neared Devil May Cry, he noticed that some of the lights were still on. He blinked. It appeared as though he wasn't the only one who was awake. He knocked on the front door lightly before pushing it open. He was greeted immediately by a chuckle. 

'You're the only one who hasn't broken down my door at some point.' Reiko smiled at Dante's comment.

'I could always change that for you.'

'I'd rather you didn't. The repairmen don't come here anymore so it's up to _me_ to fix the door!' The two men looked towards the door, which was barely standing. Splinters decorated the door, making it a potential hazard to even open the damned thing. Reiko slowly turned to look back at Dante.

'Very well, I shall not break your door. But only because I fear that I would do more damage to myself than to the door.' He smiled at Dante. Dante glowered at him in response but Reiko didn't seem to notice as he sat down on the lumpy couch.

'My handiwork isn't _that_ bad.' Reiko raised an eyebrow.

'I've seen better.' Dante said nothing, but silently, he was forced to reluctantly agree.

'So, Reiko. What brings you here?'

'I was at the guild.'

'What happened?'

'Nothing much. Some of my numbers left once they heard that I was to try and talk to the Harpies and gain their friendship. I still have a great number that will follow me.' Reiko said softly. Dante frowned, and it had the effect of causing Reiko to mirror the look on his face. 'What is it? Does this news distress you somehow?'

'I _still _have a bad feeling about this.' Dante blinked and the frown turned into a hostile scowl as Reiko laughed whole-heartedly at his statement. 'Is there something funny?'

'Dante, it is unlike you to be apprehensive about any situation.'

'Yeah well let's just say I learnt from a past mistake.'

'And what mistake was this?' Reiko's eyes were filled with sudden interest. Dante shook his head. 'The infamous Dante Sparda never makes mistakes as far as I know.' Again, Dante shook his head.

'You don't know me well enough to know whether I make mistakes or not.'

The vampire looked mollified.

'I apologize.' His voice had dropped to barely above a whisper. Dante didn't answer him and an uncomfortable silence fell between them, only broken by the ticking of a clock. Dante stared out of the window and into the lamp-lit world beyond. Reiko remained totally still, his eyes unblinking, focused on nothing, not breathing. The dead have no use for air, and Reiko stopped trying to act as though he still had use for it. He simply sat there, like some kind of realistic statue. The silence continued to stretch but it was suddenly broken as the vampire suddenly seemed to reanimate and stood up.

'I should take my leave.'

'I'm afraid you won't be doing that.' Again silence fell. Reiko felt something stir underneath Dante's skin. He didn't know whether it was simply irritation or whether it was the demon inside. Dante turned around, and Reiko's eyes flared crimson in warning before he went to sit back on the couch.

'Very well, Dante,' He said mildly. All was still again.

'I need a favour.' Reiko allowed a small smile to grace his features. So _this_ was what all the fuss was about? He felt the irritation flowing outwards from Dante and grinned.

'Yes?'

'It's about Lorelei.' Reiko's grin slipped slightly.

'…'

'Her mother decided to drop in for a visit. The upshot of this was she took Lorelei back with her.' Reiko frowned at this.

'And what's so bad about that?'

'If Lorelei was telling the truth, that dragon could still be around. We need her here for her own safety and we need her to tell us anything else she may have noticed that night.' Reiko shrugged.

'So go get her then.'

'If only it was that simple. The kid's mother knows where we're at. She'll simply come again and we'll be back where we started.'

'You don't necessarily have to bring her back here though. Just go and get her and take her somewhere else.'

'I can't. I have a job.'

'Trish can then.'

'She's out on a job too.'

'How convenient,' Reiko muttered darkly and glared at Dante balefully.

'You're going to get her and you're going to keep her with you.'

'What?' Reiko's eyes had widened. 'No! You can't be serious!'

'You have no choice.'

'W-what d'you mean?'

'If you don't help us, we don't help you. We leave you on your own with the Harpies and you can fight this war yourself.' Reiko stared at him as though he was in the midst of some kind of nightmare.

'This has got to be some kind of joke,' he groaned. Dante handed him a scrap of paper with a crude sketch of a map drawn on it. Underneath, for his convenience, there were bullet points. Reiko squinted at the writing and could barely make out what it said. Trish's handwriting was difficult to read at the very best. He sighed with pure annoyance and glared at Dante before he turned for the door.

'Fine. I'll do this…but only because of the fact that if I don't, you'll stop fighting alongside me.' He left. Dante started to chuckle.

'You're a fool, Reiko,' he whispered. 'You seriously think I'd stop fighting for the world if you didn't do what I said?'

* * *

Reiko walked along the streets. Even with his excellent night-vision, he could not make out what the hell Trish had written down. The map looked like a bunch of squiggles and scrawls that were just as difficult to follow as the writing. He saw a lamp ahead and went over to it, hoping the extra light would aid him. It did not help him in the least. His eyes narrowed with irritation.

Not only was Trish's handwriting crap, she also spelt things wrong. What looked like an "S" was often an "R" and she often forgot to dot her "i"s and her "t"s. He paused when he saw the word "sight" on the paper and decided to take a right. "clempt" soon became left and "hor-stopp" was soon found out to mean "whore-stop". Sure enough there were loads of women milling around, just waiting. Luckily, Reiko saw that he had the word "sight" on his paper just before this area and took another right.

Eventually he came upon the house and stood staring at it. It wasn't too bad a place, if you discount the broken panes of glass that made up the windows to nearly every room, the slates that were missing from the roof, the crumbling walls and the fact that their garden shed seemed to be infested with rats. A nice place indeed. He circled the house warily and was pleased to see that there were no lights on at all. Only one window had a pane of glass that was still intact, even though it was incredibly dirty.

Content to see that it appeared as though no one was awake, he went into the garden shed and found a sizeable ladder and set it against the wall. He started to climb up it, his feet noiseless and peered into the first window. Inside, there was a small bed, with a huge mound asleep on it. It gave a particularly huge snore and Reiko backed down the ladder, grimacing. Lorelei did _not_ look like a hippo in a bed-sheet. He felt a pang of guilt and felt dirty. What the hell was he doing sneaking around and staring into people's windows? Like a thief in the dark? Well…he was being a thief in one sense.

Was this really what it had come down to? Kidnapping? The things a self-respecting vampire had to do to make sure the world remained in safe hands…

The next window he went to did not reward him, though he had made a great deal of noise than before. The girl inside woke up and leant out of the window, but by the time she had got there, Reiko had already hidden the ladder and himself in the nearest clump of bushes he could find.

Through some miracle, he wasn't discovered and the girl went back to sleep. Reiko was left alone to continue his search.

The next window he went to was the one that actually had glass. When he climbed up the ladder, however, the glass was so filthy he couldn't see through it. He cursed and tore off a scrap of material from his sleeve and climbed down. He quickly dashed to the water tap and twisted it hard and was rewarded by some water trickling out. He sighed and dampened the cloth and then ran up the ladder as quick as he could. By the time he got there, the cloth had already dried.

He cursed again and went back down again and picked up a pebble, almost certain that this window would be Lorelei's. If not…well…he was screwed. He was about to throw the pebble when he thought about it and let it drop to the ground. It was best if he let the family keep their one remaining window. Instead he picked up a clod of mud and threw it, smiling when he heard it collide against the glass with a wet splat.

He blinked when he heard no sound from within the house and he bent down to pick up another fistful of grass and mud and chucked it again. Twice more he did this, but flinched when the window suddenly opened and the last piece of mud flew through the window. There was no splat, but instead a muffled shriek.

'HEY!' Lorelei poked her head out of the window and glared around, mud covering her face. Reiko had already dived for the bushes but soon crept out again and stood sheepishly.

'Um…'

'_You_!?'

'Uh…'

'What the _hell_ are you doing?!'

'…Dante sent me.'

'…What?' Lorelei looked irritated and disbelieving. Reiko felt irritated himself.

'You know, Dante! The Devil Hunter?' Lorelei looked blank.

'He's a Devil Hunter? I thought he was a Dragon Hunter.' Reiko stared at her.

'If he was a Dragon Hunter he wouldn't be making much of a profit now, would he? Anyway, Dante sent me and you are to come with me.'

'How do I know you're not lying? Hm? And how do I know you're not trying to lure me out of the house to bite my neck or something?' Reiko was silent. Lorelei continued. 'You might be some vampire _rapist _or something!' Reiko's eyes narrowed slightly but he chose to say nothing. This had been precisely why Reiko didn't like women's company too much. They were stupid. Well, this one was anyway. Lorelei looked triumphant.

'You haven't got anything to say for yourself, do you? I was right, wasn't I?'

'…No.'

'No?'

'No.'

'Oh.' Lorelei blushed. 'So you're not a rapist?' Reiklo rolled his eyes.

'If I _was _a rapist, I wouldn't _tell_ you would I? Stupid…'

'I'm not stupid! I'm just careful!'

'Uh huh? Suuuure…Listen, do you want to stay with your mother or not?'

'…'

'Because Dante's giving you an opportunity to get out of here and if you're not going to take it, very well. I bid you good night.' Lorelei sighed.

'Fine…I'll go. Just let me get my things.' Reiko rolled his eyes and sat down by the ladder, thinking that she was going to take an hour or something. Surprisingly, she only took ten minutes before she came down the ladder. Obviously, Lorelei wasn't a proper girl then. Reiko took a kind of malicious pleasure in thinking this. Him, a rapist? Yeah right. If he was a rapist, Lorelei was a hermaphrodite. Yeah. Made sense.

'Come on,' he grumbled.

'Where are we going?'

'To my place.' Lorelei ground to a halt.

'WHAT?' Reiko turned around.

'To…my…place…' he said blandly. '_À ma maison…Tu comprends? Non?_' Lorelei frowned. Reiko continued. '_Alla mia casa…ancora non capiscono?_' He frowned. '_Hausu… _' Lorelei looked irritated.

'I understood very well the meaning of your words!'

'So why did you exclaim so?'

'BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO GO TO A VAMPIRE'S HOUSE!'

'…_jajauma_' He muttered angrily under his breath, barely a whisper.

'What?'

'Nothing! …_kutabare_…' Lorelei was quiet but then sighed and walked alongside him. Everything was silent until Reiko passed the guild. He paused and frowned before looking up at the sky. The sun was no where to be seen. Other vampires apart from him would be around.

'Come on. We must be quick.'

'Why?'

'Not all vampires are as patient as me and not all vampires refuse to attack humans.' Lorelei gave him a long look but then frowned and looked away, feeling guilty.

'I'm sorry.'

'…'

'I really am sorry.' Reiko didn't answer, it was almost as though he hadn't heard her. He suddenly took a left and then a right and then came to a stop. Lorelei looked around and frowned. The building they had come to was very old, and it seemed as though slamming a door would cause the whole building to collapse. Reiko unlocked the door and switched off the alarm as soon as he went inside, Lorelei following close behind him. Her eyes widened as Reiko hit a light switch.

'Wow…'


	8. Chapter 8

_Okay, here we are again with another update. Bit of a sobering chapter I think so if you're feeling depressed or teary or emotional it's best if you don't read this. It MIGHT make you cry but then again it might not. Whatever. ANYWAY, I've realized that I haven't been doing a disclaimer for every chapter so this time I'm going to._

_Dante and Trish do not belong to me. However, Lorelei, Remy, Reiko, Augren, Zantroand anyone else who isn't mentioned in either of the two Devil May Cry games do belong to me so don't take them without asking for permission from me._

_Thank you._

_And now, for the chapter. I enjoyed writing this even though it took me ages and I have to thank my Mom for helping me with the idea for this chapter. Thus, this chapter is dedicated to her._

_This chapter was written to Zone of the Enders the 2nd Runner – Beyond the Bounds. Don't ask HOW I managed to create such a chapter while listening to such a happy sounding song._

_Enjoy!_ ****

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**Chapter 8**

****

Dante worked calmly and steadily through the several books he had out. Not one of them had said anything else that was remotely useful. He growled with annoyance and then chucked a book over his head. He was greeted by an angry yelp and a loud thud.

'Dante!'

'What?'

'When will you learn that you could hurt someone when you throw books around like that?' Dante shrugged and carried on reading. Trish stared at him and her eyes narrowed with anger. 'What are you looking for anyway?'

'Dragons.'

'What about the Harpies?'

'You can look for that. Let me work on the dragons.' Trish sighed and stared around before picking up another discarded book. She blew the dust off it, and straight into Dante's face, sending him into a flurry of sneezes.

'TRISH!'

'Heh, sorry Dante.' She watched with a smile as Dante settled back into his chair, arms folded behind his head, acting like a pillow, closing his eyes. She frowned when she saw the look that was on Dante's face. He looked exhausted.

'Dante?'

'What now?' He snapped.

'…You…look awful.' Dante opened his eyes and glared at Trish frostily, actually causing her to shrink back from him.

'Thanks.'

'I was just saying…' She sighed and turned away from him before walking upstairs. Dante's eyes shot to the clock. It was only seven in the evening. He still had too much time. He felt sick with boredom, sick with worry.

The search was continuing to be fruitless. It was like trying to catch the sun, and trying to hold the brilliant light of the sun in your hands. It always seemed so close, but yet, was impossible. Dante sighed with frustration. Why did he have the horrible feeling that the answer to his problem was right under his nose? Why? And if it was under his nose, why couldn't he even think of what it could be? How could he be expected to fight a dragon if he had no idea how to go about it?

---

Upstairs, Trish heard the door slam. She narrowed her eyes but said nothing, only continued to read through the book of Greek Mythology she was balancing on her lap while eating chocolate, something that Dante seemed to disapprove of ever since she got chocolate smeared on one of his precious, but unused books. It didn't matter to her at all what Dante chose to do in his spare time, which often took the form of four or five peaceful days.

Peace. It seemed to be a thing that Dante did not care much for. Indeed, when there were no demons hunting in packs or a single demon that was threatening to rip someone's throat out, Dante became bored and almost -dare she say it? - fretful.

Trish sighed as she realised that she had been reading the same sentence over and over again. It was only then that she knew that she too, was sick and tired of studying. Curiously, she looked at the sentence again, which still hadn't sunk into her mind. _Harpies lust for power. Harpies torment those who do wrong. _Interesting…not. It wasn't even as though it was that important.

She sat back and stared up at the ceiling, feeling oddly at unrest. Her mind swirled around those two sentences. _Harpies torment those who do wrong…_Was this why the Harpies hate the vampires so much? Reiko had said that the Harpies had suffered a death due to one vampire's sudden, uncontrollable bloodlust. None of the books agreed with this however. None of the books even knew that the vampires and Harpies were out for each other's blood.

Yet…one book had said that vampires lived in the darkness to show that light and God's purity meant nothing to them. They lived in the dark, to shun the light and all goodness that was born of the sun. So, if Harpies were holy beings, they would want to kill vampires due to their betrayal.

Personally, Trish thought that the idea was a whole load of bull shit. Remy was in no way cruel, and never shown any malice or any spark of evil towards either her or Dante. And as for Reiko? Well, he had had a few incidents where he'd been turned into a raving beast but that was only because he was trying so hard to keep his humanity. He'd appeared to have learnt from his mistake however, and was now more and more able to keep control. To call him evil and revoking God would be like calling a newborn baby dangerous.

Trish sighed again, not knowing what to make of her thoughts. They seemed so unrelated to everything that was going on. Why was she trying to bring up her own conclusions? Why was she trying to link the material in two different books. Books barely knew anything. She trusted Reiko's story. It seemed to show the characters of the Harpies. They seemed incredibly savage and ruthless.

That much was obvious. Reiko would have already been able to figure that much out. It appeared as though her search for any information about the harpies was just as fruitless as Dante's search for information on dragons. The problem with Dante's search was that there was plenty of information on the beasts, just no information on how to kill them easily without putting yourself at risk. The problem with her search was that there just didn't appear to be enough information for her to gain anything.

Her eyes slide to the clock idly and then slid down to the rest of her chocolate bar. She absentmindedly munched at it, not caring that there was a little blob of it's caramel centre on the cover of the book. She blinked and her eyes flitted to the clock again. Eleven at night.

Where the hell was Dante?

---

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia…

Dante swore under his breath. Of all the books he'd been reading at Devil May Cry, the only word that had stuck in his brain was that particular word. The fear of long words. Ironic. He narrowed his eyes, feeling irritated. A fear of long words didn't have anything to do with what he was looking for, and yet that was the only thing remotely of interest he'd been able to find.

It was for this reason and this reason only that he hated researching. It more often then not proved to be a complete waste of time. Whatever…after a hard night of studying, he was going to the pub to drink himself into a more cheerful mood. Or possibly aggressive. Whatever the mood, it would suit him just fine. He could do with going home and tearing something apart. Preferably a demon but if not a demon, well, he could always smack about a punching bag or something.

The first thing that hit him like a sledgehammer was the smell of alcohol as he sauntered into the pub. Loud voices, all holding the same British accent made it's way across to his ears. Somewhere, someone belched loudly shortly followed by applause and whoops. Dante wrinkled his nose minutely. They called that a burp?

He sat down at the bar area and ordered a pint of Lager. The voices around him rose to a crescendo and Dante found himself with a headache. Maybe going to the pub hadn't been the best idea…He blinked slightly as a relatively overweight guy smelling of sweat sat down beside him. It was at that point that Dante had had enough.

Don't get him wrong, it wasn't that he didn't like people who were overweight. As a kid, he'd been pretty podgy with his love for chocolate. And it wasn't the fact that the man stank either. God knows, he was probably lifting heavy things all day, especially in this heat. Anybody could work up a sweat. It was the fact that he felt crowded. A crowded Dante was not a happy Dante, nope, no way.

He struggled slightly and managed to retain his composure. He found the money he needed, paid for his drink and spun around in his seat so then he could keep an eye on the crowd's of people. His claustrophobia seemed to increase. Then he remembered it was a Friday night. Of course…no wonder why it felt as though the whole world had managed to fit itself in a tiny pub. He rolled his eyes heavenwards as he heard another "huge" burp which was hailed with another bout of wild applause but then tensed. Was that a demon taint he had just felt?

He got up after only one pint. Sure he liked to drink but Dante knew that when demons were on the prowl they wouldn't take any pity on a drunk. Before he went out of the pub, he let out a tremendous burp, which seemed to echo all around the pub. The guys in the back of the pub were too drunk to notice it was him, but all the same, they exclaimed and whooped excitedly.

'Oi, that was a goo' one.'

'Yeah mate, didn't know you could do that.' The guy the other two were talking to only looked confused.

'I didn't.'

'Hey? Then 'o did?'

Dante left.

---

He paused once he was out of the pub. The fresh air served to clear his head from the alcoholic fumes and he took in a deep breath. He started to walk along the street, his sword covered by his trench-coat, his guns also covered. He paused again once he felt the strange taint. How could he have thought it was a demon taint when it was obvious that he had never felt anything like it before? He moved towards it, unsure and for the first time in a long time, worried.

The moon glimmered palely in the night sky, and dizzying myriads of stars twinkled overhead. On such a beautiful, peaceful night as this, it was hard to try and think that there was something amiss. He suddenly came to a sudden halt as he came upon a surprising sight.

A small child stood in the middle of the road, clutching onto a battered teddy-bear. There were no adults in sight, save for himself. The boy looked terrified and he seemed to be able to do nothing but stand there shivering, dressed only in a white T-shirt and jeans. Dante frowned and walked towards the boy cautiously. Hey, he was a demon killer, he dealt with the unexpected nearly every other day. If the boy suddenly turned into a fourteen foot demon, he'd be prepared. However, the boy didn't suddenly transform and simply stood there, staring up at the demon hunter with wide green eyes.

'Kid, it's a bit late to be playing outside, don't you think? Where's your parents?' The boy said nothing but blinked up at him slowly, as though struggling to understand what Dante said. 'Are they in there?' Dante motioned to the pub he had just come out of. The boy shook his head.

'They're a-a-asleep.' The stutter was all Dante needed to hear to know that the boy's parents had died, and that the child was attempting to lie to himself. Despite this, he had a sudden urge to try and help, to try and find out what was going on. It was a gut feeling, one could say. That he knew that the deaths were due to something out of the ordinary.

'How long have they…been asleep for?'

'An hour…' Dante frowned and momentarily forgot he was talking to a kid.

'Didn't anyone see it happen? Did you see it happen?' The child nodded and to Dante's concern and irritation, his face crumpled up and he began to cry.

'Uh huh….it was b-b-big.' The child used the word "big". And the word "It". This was no human who had done this. Probably a demon. Now, how to gain information on what kind of demon this was?

'What colour was it?'

'B-b-blue.' Blue…hm…it could possibly be a Msira. The boy however, had started crying loudly and mumbling incoherently. One word caught Dante's ear and his eyes widened.

'What did you say?'

'Blue!'

'No no! After that!'

'D-d-…' Dante's stomach clenched with anxiety. Demon? Devil? Oh God, please let it be a demon. 'Dragon.'

Dante felt his heart plummet to his feet. Great. Just what he needed to hear. The dragon had arisen again and had killed another two people. This had to stop. He had to stop this dragon. But how? Was Alastor powerful enough to do the job? He did not know. He didn't even know what kind of attacks he should use, or where the Dragon's weak spot was. If he had to fight the dragon, how was he going to go about it? He'd probably die in the process. He gave himself a mental shake. No. He shouldn't start thinking that. If he died, who'd fight the war? Reiko could very well lead an army by himself but he knew that the army did need his strength. The army would be more willing to fight and follow the Son of Sparda rather than follow a vampire.

It sounded arrogant, but it was simply the truth. Then again, Reiko had fought off not only Mostro but Nelo Angelo as well. Surely that made him a respected figure? He was a head vampire as well. He could command a lot of respect and loyalty. Reiko could very well do it. However, that was only if he died. Did he really plan on dying tonight? Not really.

The boy was staring up at him avidly. Dante's mind continued to whirl. The dragon had been awake an hour ago. How could no one have heard? How could no one have seen? Surely someone must have heard something. Maybe they had…maybe they died too? Never mind, he needed to act now and see whether he could actually kill this thing.

'Where did you see the dragon?' The boy wordlessly took Dante's hand in his own chubby one and led him off. Dante allowed himself to be tugged away. The two made something of a strange pair; a normally dressed little boy holding the hand of a red-clad man who seemed to be hiding something bulky under his coat. Dante's face was grim, but in contrast, the boy looked trusting and happy, as though he'd find his parents magically awake by the time he and Dante came to the scene of their murder.

---

Dante soon understood why it was that no-one had seen anything. The pier the child had brought him to was entirely deserted. Dante saw immediately that the only people around were them. The attractions were closed, and it appeared as though the food vendors had packed up and left a long time ago. He scented the air, and was surprised to notice that he couldn't smell the scent of old fries or hotdogs. Instead, the pier reeked of death and abandon. Closer inspection proved that the various attractions that the pier had once held to offer had been out of use for some time. Why?

'They say it's haunted,' said the boy suddenly. Well, that was his question answered at any rate. Dante frowned.

'What?'

'Someone died here a long time ago, and anyone that comes here gets into deep trouble.' Silly rumours were often very effective. There may have been those who had laughed at the rumour and had come here to hang out here, but there was no sign of them anymore. Dante looked around, and found himself believing the tale. Why else would it stink so much? He strongly suspected that there may have been some demon activity around here, and that there still was? Why hadn't he felt it before? He didn't have the time to think about it. He would do his thinking later on, when he was back at Devil May Cry. _If _he got back to Devil May Cry.

Again, he gave himself another mental shake. Since when had he started acting like a chicken-shit? Since never. Why was he breaking apart? He had to pull himself together.

The boy soon began to walk forwards, closer to the pier but then came to a stop. He blinked, as though surprised and then began to cry. Dante came up to see what it was he had found. Two severed heads stared up at him, resting in a pool of blood, eyes wide, faces grey, mouths open. Blood-soaked hair. It had the appearance that something had chewed at them. Indeed, there were splinters of bone sticking out through the hair in several places. He shuddered and slowly looked up.

'Why did you come here?'

'We were walking along the beach.' Dante understood. The family must have been walking along the beach when they saw the dragon. They must have run to the pier looking for cover. He slowly looked down into the water and felt sick to see the waters were darker around the wooden legs that helped support the pier. The beach was obviously too close to the pier for the comfort of most people, and so it was that they had been the only ones there. Dante's eyes settled upon the sea and he noticed that there were no ships out.

The boy suddenly began to whimper again and Dante frowned and turned to look at him. His heart stopped for a split second before it felt as though it was lodged in his throat, stopping him from breathing, stopping him from thinking clearly.

The dragon had arisen again. It glared down at them, eyes yellow and wild, deadly, venomous in all of its ferocity. The boy started screaming, and Dante watched, as though hypnotised as the dragon's eyes switched onto the child. Dante suddenly felt himself springing into action and plucked up the boy and ran as fast as he could, back along the pier.

The dragon roared and lashed out with its tail, smashing the pier and sending part of it sinking into the sea. Dante changed into his demon form and started to fly. It was no good; the dragon had stopped its thrashing and had started the chase. Despite the red that clouded his vision, Dante realised that the only thing he cared about was his and the boy's safety. For once, the demon did not wish to kill, only to flee.

He knew even before he looked back that he had failed in trying to outrun the beast. He could feel the hot stale breath against his back, and all too late, he felt the claws ripping into his body. He fell heavily to the ground, the boy falling out of his arms and rolling away from him, still clutching onto his teddy-bear as though it was some precious jewel.

The power faded, and Dante stared in horror as the dragon surged forward, ignoring him completely. The tail obstructed Dante's vision, blocking him from getting to the child. There was a high pitched shriek and then nothing.

Dante was silent and the dragon still appeared not to notice him. It turned around, blood dripping from its mouth and went back to the sea, as though nothing had happened. Dante turned his head so he was peering over his shoulder and watched the dragon numbly as it submerged smoothly, barely leaving a ripple, as though it had never existed.

He turned his head again, and began to shake, devastated. In front of him lay the battered and now ownerless teddy bear. Almost mechanically, he picked it up and stared down at it and then turned to look at the sea again, tears in his eyes.

He couldn't believe it.

He'd failed.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

****

Lorelei sighed with annoyance as she lay in bed, staring up at the ceiling. She was bored, and lonely, and even worse, the only thing she had for company was a vampire who didn't seem to want anything to do with her. Wonderful.

The first night at Reiko's house had been uneventful. She had been surprised to see how well furnished the hallway was, and how spacious it was. It was almost like the lobby of some kind of palace, complete with a huge chandelier in the middle. She had peered out of a window and had seen that there were no buildings to be seen for miles.

'Where are we?'

'Does it matter?' came the soft reply. Lorelei had blinked, taken aback.

'Well actually, it does.' She had glared at him, but the vampire had said nothing and only watched her steadily. Lorelei remembered staring into those eyes and felt no pull. Odd, isn't that what vampires were known to do? Lure you in with their eyes? However, it appeared as though Reiko couldn't, or didn't want to.

Lorelei's mind flitted to their conversation, their first and only.

'You are in my house.'

'House? More like a mansion.'

'Very well. You are in my mansion.' Reiko had kept watching her and Lorelei remembered that she had stared back, but not without hate, more with curiosity.

'Why haven't you made a move to kill me?' The vampires eyes had clouded over with sadness and he had said nothing, but simply turned around and walked upstairs. Lorelei had followed him without thinking.

Reiko had stopped at the landing upstairs but had not turned around, almost as though he had eyes in the back of his head that he was watching her through. She had paused and then pulled the worst face she could think of behind his back. Reiko had suddenly turned around and blinked looking somewhat shocked.

'Lore, are you all right?' She had blinked, her face frozen with her tongue poking out at him.

'Uh…' Sheepishly, her features had slowly rearranged themselves so then she looked somewhat normal. Reiko had watched her intensely, one eyebrow raised in puzzlement.

'I could…get you a drink of water if your throat is feeling parched.'

'No no…I'm fine.' Reiko had blinked again and then slowly began to look almost hurt, wounded.

'Please refrain from pulling less than savoury faces at me behind my back. If you are unhappy with your present situation, then you should take it up with Dante, not me. I am sorry. However, I am not to blame for your predicament. Here is your bedroom. The bathroom is directly next to it.' He had looked at her again before he had padded off silently like some kind of kicked cat. All at once, she had felt a sudden pang of guilt. Irritated with herself, she had flung herself into the bedroom and threw herself onto the bed, determined to close her eyes and go back to her sleep, which had been so unexpectedly interrupted.

And it was there she had stayed for the past three days, unable to sleep with in an environment that was hugely unfamiliar.

She had thought that after her shoddy treatment, he would retaliate by cutting off all meals or welding the door shut or something equally as horrible. However, contrary to this belief, it was almost as though he was determined to win her over somehow. Three times a day, a carefully laid out tray full of food was to be found in front of the bedroom door, often noticed when Lorelei was going to the bathroom next door.

The food wasn't crap either. In fact, it was more like a gourmet meal.

It looked like this vampire was just full of surprises. Why on earth would a vampire keep food in his house if he was incapable of eating? Well, that was his business, it wasn't for her to wonder about.

Yet despite all the meals and the questions she wanted to ask, the vampire hadn't said a word to her, and she hadn't said anything to him since that first night. What was even worst was the fact that she was beginning to think she'd welcome any company, and that if the vampire hadn't killed her yet, then he wasn't likely to ever. Maybe she should start giving him a chance.

But would he take the chance? Would he even try talking back to her. Well, there seemed to be only one way to find out. She cautiously padded over to her bedroom door and looked out. The hallway was lined with a rich red carpeting, well vacuumed, not a speck of dirty on it. It felt soft and warm under her feet, like she would sink into it if she didn't keep on the move.

She walked down the hall way but suddenly paused seeing the stairs. She would be here for a long time, or so it seemed. What should stop her from doing a little exploring? Try a vampire who still could not be trusted just yet. Should she really risk exploring? The vampire would surely know his own mansion better than her.

The mansion seemed ancient – or maybe that was just the various expensive antiques she could see around the place – yet it had no musty smell to it, and no scent of mildew. It was quite simply, a well kept house. Mansion. House. An extremely well kept house. Her eyes danced with excitement and she turned away from the stairs, checking the time on her silver watch. It was only one o' clock at night. The vampire was sure to be out somewhere, doing something, and he'd probably be out for ages.

She suddenly felt a sudden burst of sympathy. She stopped in her tracks as she pondered on the vampire's lifestyle. It must be so dull, having to stay indoors all day, unable to see the world outside in all it's colourful splendor, unable t go to the shops and buy the supplies he needed. After all, England wasn't like her birthplace, America. The stores only opened until 5 o' clock in the evening, and usually, the sun hadn't gone down by then.

She walked into the first room past the bathroom she frequented and saw that it was a windowless office. There was a varnished old oak table, on which lay computer accessories and various stacks of paper. The In-tray only had a single piece of paper in it. The Out-tray was stacked up high, suggesting that Reiko was more than able to keep on top of his workload.

Lorelei glided over, still in her bare feet and in her nightdress, curious as to what this vampire could be doing in order to gain money. She read the first few sentences and was able to gather that Reiko ran some sort of computer business. A prestigious one by the looks of it. She noted suddenly, the dozens of computers in the office, some equipped with gadgets she had never seen before.

Internet! Of course! Supermarkets now had an online system with which you could order food and supplies and have it delivered to your doorstep. The vampire must be worshipping the Internet. She walked back out of the room and came across a few more spare bedrooms, a storage room, another larger bathroom and a games room.

The room had all kinds of games consoles and nearly every video game for each console. There was a pool table to one side of the room, and right at the back of the room, there was a bar filled with drinks. This room was obviously used for entertaining either himself or guests. There was also a football table on the other side of the room. Directly in front of her, she could see some old toys the vampire hadn't yet parted with. She frowned minutely and went over to examine them.

They were very few toys and all of them seemed quite old but it was obvious that each toy carried a lot of sentiment and that the vampire had treasured them to this very day. Each toy had it's own separate little glass case, where they stood raised on a podium. She paused seeing a metal car with a small engraving on it, the writing swirling and looping intricately.

"To our Darling son, Reiko. Happy Birthday. With lots of love, Mommy and Daddy."

She smiled, reading the inscription but then blinked, wondering. Where were his parents? Did they keep in touch? But the more and more toys she looked at, the more and more uneasy she became, the more and more she felt that something was missing from the vampire's life. She couldn't bring herself to draw up a conclusion. She stopped and smiled seeing a stuffed toy in the shape of some kind of wild cat before she turned away to look at a new room.

However when she got out to the corridor, she found out that there was only one room more left to explore. She cautiously nudged it open and blinked seeing it was the vampires bedroom. She stood on the thresh-hold of the bedroom, staring in curiously before thinking that she was being perhaps a bit _too _nosy. She decided to swallow this feeling and walk in anyway.

She stood in the center of his room and looked around interestedly, only to be disappointed. There seemed to be nothing out of the ordinary. Everything was neat and orderly and remarkably human. Her eyes flitted to the bedside table, on which there was a lamp, a glasses case – she laughed a little at that, a vampire who needed reading glasses? – and a photo frame. She walked over towards it and looked but did not touch.

The photo depicted a young boy being held and picked up by a strong looking man, with the same amazing jet-black hair. One of his arms was draped around the shoulders of a delicate looking woman, with the startling deep hazel eyes. The boy also had inherited them. The family were all smiling, their eyes alive with happiness.

It was a perfect picture of a perfect family. Again she was stabbed by a feeling of unease.

What had happened?

What had happened to this perfect happy little family?

She didn't want to know. Yet, she had a feeling she already did.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Reiko walked onwards in the dark, his eyes glimmering. Those who did not know him would have thought him to be a dangerous man, and they would not have been far wrong. But those who would think of him as animal-like, and savage would have been way off course. Those however, who knew him, would have been right in thinking that Reiko was not necessarily being dangerous, more that his hazel eyes were shining with excitement at the prospect of a mission.

Every Saturday, the vampires of Reiko's guild would all meet up at the abandoned factory space to discuss the latest news. Reiko was always present at these meetings, presiding over who got to talk when, like a patient teacher. Everyone got their say. The news could vary from anything as little as which places where new for finding willing "donors", to something as big as the mention of rebellion in one of the neighboring city's guild.

This time, there was no mention of Rebellion, nor any mention of new "donors". Instead, something more alarming, and something directly concerning the guild had been mentioned. Apparently, there had been three of the younger, newer vampires of his guild and they had been walking through the area, chatting and talking about this and that, like how any human teenagers would have done. Two of the vampires walked ahead of the other, who had lagged behind, and eventually the conversation had been drawn to a question. The two had given their opinions and had turned to the third to ask for his. However, when they turned, they saw that he had fallen to the floor, dead. There had been no sign as to what had done this.

So now Reiko was scouting out the area, slightly nervous - he would be a fool not to be - but still trying to portray a sense of confidence. The life of a Head Vampire was never easy. He paused after taking every couple of steps, trying to listen to whether someone was stalking him, or whether he was being hunted down. He often cast quick glimpses behind him and even took to looking up the walls and in the shadows, his sharp night vision allowing him to see into every nook and cranny of each alleyway.

Dressed in all black, he was like some kind of sleek jaguar. Certainly, he had all the grace of one. He continued to pad along, his feet making no sound. He suddenly paused, slightly confused, and uneasy, wondering, unsure. Had he heard something behind him? He remained in the same place, not even trying to look back, instead trying to reach all areas around him with his senses.

There seemed to be nothing. Was he imagining it?

Possibly.

Yet Reiko knew more than anyone else that he was one of the few people who were extremely hard to trick or scare.

He slowly, surely started to make his way along the alley he was in and paused before he started to cross into the open. His heart slammed in his chest. He swallowed hard and then paused again, turning in a full circle, his staff out in case of attack. There was nothing. A couple passed him by, taking in his dark appearance, his narrowed eyes, and the weapon in his hands. They hurried past him, down into the alleyway he had just come up.

Reiko slowly let down his guard, feeling slightly stupid. He knew what he must have looked like to the couple that had just passed him and gone down the alley he had just come up from. He must have looked like some kind of thug. He narrowed his eyes, took one long last look around before he hid his staff in the folds of his trench coat. He took a deep breath and then carried on walking, continuing his investigations.

---

Along the pier, the waters were calm and undisturbed. The full moon was reflected in its cool clear surface, as were the dizzying myriads of stars. The beauty of the night scene was lost upon the woman who stood there alone, staring at the ruined pier. Bits of wood floated on the surface of the water. The woman slowly shook her head and gave vent to a breathy sigh. Next to her, a red blemish stained the ground. It suddenly seemed to catch her eye and she frowned bending down towards it, placing her hand to the cool pavement.

Immediately, images flashed through into her mind and she gasped with fear as she saw the face of a young boy screaming his last before the bulk of some monstrous beast blocked the vision. Her eyes opened, only to see a man staring at her, a strange smile on his face.

'W-who are you?' The man simply shrugged but didn't move his eyes from her. She looked away, unnerved and slightly bewildered. 'I said who are you?'

'That is none of your concern,' the man whispered. The woman looked towards him quickly and frowned. 'You will not be alive to see the sun rise.' The woman's eyes narrowed suddenly.

'If you think you are the one who is going to see your statement fulfilled, I am afraid you have been mistaken.' The man smiled cruelly, his grey eyes glinting maliciously.

'I think it's _you_ who is mistaken, Harpy.' His face was calm but his voice dripped with loathing and acid. The Harpy glared at him and sudden wings sprouted out leaving two huge tears in the shoulder blades of the top she was wearing. Sooty black in colour, they silhouetted against the moon, arcing gracefully into a curve before spreading out in their entire splendor.

Her violet eyes locked onto the cold grey eyes of the man and her own lips curved upwards into a smile.

'You are a mere mortal. A human being. You have no chance against me.'

'I know.'

'And yet you still think you can kill me?'

'I have killed other harpies before you, wench.' The woman looked disbelievingly at him.

'No! A human could not achieve this! A vampire could but never a human!' The man smirked again.

'And like I said before, you are mistaken. _I'm_ not going to kill you...but _that _will.' He smirked and stepped backwards, into the shadows. The Harpy gasped as hot breath suddenly played against her back. She whirled around and screamed before acting quickly on instinct and taking to the air.

The dragon launched itself into the sky and propelled itself forward using its powerful wings. The Harpy looked behind her and screamed seeing the dragon was inching closer to her with every second. The gap continued to shorten; she could hear the wings thrumming heavily each time the dragon beat them and she could hear the dragon's breathing as it got closer and closer. She felt movement behind her and knew without looking back that the dragon had opened its mouth, beckoning her inside.

She gasped as she felt the dragon whirl around suddenly, the wind it created knocking her off course. She paused in mid-air, wings slowly flapping, and turned to see a lone man flinging rocks and stones at the dragon, trying to distract it. The dragon snarled before zooming down like a rocket towards him. The man dodged quickly, too quickly for him to be a human.

The harpy flew higher, curiosity stupidly rendering her to the same area, even though she knew she should have moved a long time ago. The man had somehow managed to find himself backed onto the very edge of the ruined pier. The moon shone down on him and at that precise moment he looked up. The Harpy's eyes widened. What the hell was a vampire doing saving a Harpy? Was he insane?

---

Reiko stared around wildly, searching for any escape route. The ground shuddered under him as the dragon landed heavily, causing his legs to buckle, sending him crashing to the ground. He slowly picked himself up and began to back away as the dragon began to advance on him. One foot landed on nothing but air causing the vampire to slip and sway alarmingly.

Reiko swallowed hard, but tried not to let his fear show. The dragon was now crouched down directly before him, yellow eyes watching him balefully, alertly. Reiko held the gaze but suddenly the dragon charged. Reiko's eyes widened with shock and surprise but suddenly he launched himself sideways into the murky water.

Bubbles seemed to rise up from all around him as he plunged into the ice cold water, struggling against the instinct to gasp as the water stole away most of the control from his body. There was a huge disturbance from behind him and he was sent forwards from the underwater jets that were created with the impact.

He turned around and was filled with a nameless dread as his eyes fell across the blue dragon. It turned quickly, seeing him immediately. It gave vent to a huge roar and came at him. Reiko quickly turned and swam for it, knowing even before he started that it was useless. He forgot himself as he saw the dragon suddenly overtake him and turn open jawed to take him in. He screamed with pure fear, allowing water to gush into his mouth. His cry was cut short as the dragon cannoned into him, sending him floating up towards the surface.

He broke the water, gasping and coughing, spitting out the dirty water he had swallowed. He retched again dryly and shivered as he treaded water. Something suddenly smashed into his body, and Reiko heard the ominous crack before he was aware of the excruciating pain in his arm. Wearily, he looked up to see the dragon's tail surge out of the water, freeze as it blocked out the moon from his vision before it suddenly came crashing down.

He screamed with sudden pain as he suddenly found himself dragged out of the water. The spray of the tail crashing against nothing but water flew up and hit him in the face. He coughed and spluttered and tried to fight off the pain his arm was causing him before he looked up, astonished to see the Harpy was carrying him to safety.

'What are you doing?!' he called. The woman looked down towards him and smiled.

'Saving your life, _obviously_.' The two gained altitude, soaring into the clouds to avoid being seen from anyone below. Reiko felt his breath coming in gasps and started to shake all over as they went higher. The Harpy frowned.

'Are you okay?' Reiko didn't answer but continued to shiver, his eyes screwed shut, clinging onto the Harpy tightly. She imagined that she could feel his heart slamming against her own. That was ridiculous...vampires didn't have hearts that could actually beat.

'Can't...breathe...' Reiko gasped shallowly. The Harpy began to glide down towards the city, seeing that they were far from the sea. She landed neatly onto the roof of a house and let go. Reiko sprawled onto the roof in an undignified heap, his belly flattened against the roof tiles. The Harpy smiled at him and held her hands behind her back.

'Is that better?' Reiko gave an answering whine but remained lying there with his eyes closed. The Harpy blinked with sudden realization. 'I've never met a vampire who was scared of heights. Come on.' She picked him up again and Reiko automatically latched onto her like a child holding onto a coveted stuffed animal. The Harpy struggled slightly under his grip. 'Hey let go a little, will you?' She took off and landed on solid ground a minute later and only then Reiko let go, still shaking slightly with aftershock. He smiled weakly towards the Harpy but the Harpy only frowned back at him.

'Thank you for helping me,' he said simply. He slowly straightened up, sure that he was back on solid ground and held out a hand. The Harpy didn't take it.

'Who are you?'

'My name is Reiko Kaneshiro.'

'The Head Vampire of this city?' The Harpy raised her eyebrows. The vampire nodded. 'So let me get this straight. I was saved by the Head Vampire?' Her voice had risen slightly in pitch with disbelief. Reiko smiled somewhat shyly at her and nodded.

'Um...what's your name?' The Harpy blinked.

'Rose.' Reiko smiled towards her again warmly.

'Well then, Rose. I thank you for helping me.' He turned to walk away but stopped at Rose's next question.

'Why did you help me?'

'You...looked as though you were in trouble.'

'Bullshit.'

'In that case, I may ask you the same question. Why did you help me?' Rose narrowed her eyes.

'You saved me from becoming dragon chow; it was the least I could do.' Reiko was quiet for a while, mulling over the situation. Should he came out with it yet? Well, he had no choice unless he wanted to fail...

'Then the reason why I decided to step in was because I wish to rebuild the alliance between vampires and harpies.' He watched her expectantly. Her face twitched before she burst out laughing.

'You...' she gasped. 'You can't be serious, can you?' She stared up at him, still laughing before she noticed the perplexed expression on his face. 'Oh my God...you _are _serious!' Reiko shrugged his shoulders, in the manner of a ruffled owl and looked at her haughtily.

'Of _course_ I'm serious.'

'You really want an alliance.'

'Yes. I genuinely want to reunite the vampires and the harpies. Enough is enough of the fighting. I'm tired of it. It's senseless.' Rose frowned at him.

'So I suppose I'm not the only one who sees this, hm.' Reiko was silent. 'And how successful are you so far in rejoining us?'

'So far? Well I've been making good progress. There's a fair number of vampires who seem to be all for it.'

'That's all very well but what about my race?'

'Uh...none.'

'None?' Rose frowned.

'None.' Reiko nodded again in confirmation. Rose laughed again.

'Fine, vampire. I'll be the first harpy to join your cause. But know this. If you set one foot wrong, I'll kill you.' Reiko smiled pleasantly at her in reply.

'Likewise.'


	11. Chapter 11

_Again, another sobering chapter. Sorry about that. I need angst. Anyways, a few new Japanese words used here._

_Kaa-sama = Mother_

_Oto-sama = Father_

_Iie = No_

_Onegai = Please_

_The only people who don't belong to me is Dante and Trish. They're Capcom's, not mine. Could you imagine what kind of game I'd make if they WERE mine?_

_Anyway, please read and review and most of all, enjoy._

_Thank you._

**Chapter 11**

The night still hadn't died to give rise to the dawn of the new day, and for this Reiko was thankful. He paused and stared about, thinking he had heard something behind him. Nothing moved, not even the wind. Silence seemed to deafen him as he stared about. Eventually, the cold of the night forced him to shiver and he moved onwards.

He suddenly felt a heavy weight bowl into him from behind, knocking him to the ground. Acting instinctively, he let himself roll with the blow, somersaulting to his feet straight away, whirling around, his eyes gleaming with anger as he caught sight of his opponent. He brought out his staff again and twirled it before holding it, ready to strike.

A harpy stood before him, blue eyes glittering. Reiko sighed, looked around before rolling his eyes, lowering his guard completely.

'I don't want to fight,' he said, his tone one of utter boredom. The harpy blinked and then narrowed her eyes.

'I don't recall me ever giving you a choice in this matter.' Reiko laughed softly at that.

'I just don't want to fight. Take up your quarrel with the vampires with someone else. This is one vampire who isn't a part of the war between our two races.' The harpy suddenly motioned towards the shadows. Two more suddenly materialized, their dark wings rustling restlessly. Reiko snarled softly, warningly and backed away, his eyes suddenly lighting up with a crimson aura before they reverted back to being hazel.

The harpies hesitated at that before advancing again. Reiko knew only then that they were scared of him, but were willing to fight and die as long as they could take him down with them.

'Why is it that we seem only to settle our disputes with fighting?' The harpy with blue eyes glared at him.

'Because vampires have brains for naught else.' Reiko continued to back away from the harpies.

'I think you'll find...that this is not always true,' he whispered softly. His eyes turned blood red again and his fangs seemed to become more prominent. The harpies shrieked but tried valiantly to hold their ground. Reiko suddenly charged at the three but at the last minute leapt to one side and continued to run.

The harpies snarled angrily and ran after him. Reiko quickly shot a glance back but then carried on running, determined not to fight. If he were to prove a point, he couldn't go around killing harpies, even if it was in the name of self-defense. He was suddenly bowled over onto the floor. He struggled and writhed, twisting out of the grasp but rolling straight into another. He cursed. How could he have forgotten that harpies could fly as fast as vampires could run?

Two of them held him from behind, the other standing directly in front of him. Reiko's eyes darted from one side to another, trying to search for anything that could possibly save him from his predicament. He suddenly sighed and rested against them, as though he had given up the fight.

The third came towards him, smiling, her eyes filled with wicked intent.

'So you see, vampire. You wronged our race and now another of your numbers will fall.'

'That was a long time ago,' he mumbled, more to himself than to anyone else. He said nothing but was only aware of the fact that the grips on his arms were loosening.

He suddenly pulled away from them viciously, causing them to lose their hold on him completely. He bulled towards the third harpy before veering sharply to the left, bolting down an alley. His eyes widened as he saw that there was nothing but a high brick wall at the bottom of the alley. Without slowing down an inch, he dug his staff into the ground and pole-vaulted over it, yanking his staff up at the last minute, taking it with him as he soared over the wall...

And straight into the hands of a harpy.

'I've got him! Eve, I've got him!' The one with the blue eyes joined her sister's side, their wings beating perfectly in synch with each other. Reiko struggled wildly and then took the mistake of looking down. He suddenly started to tremble as his vision swum.

'Well,' said Eve, 'I should have known you'd have caught him, Delia. Fastest flier...' Delia smiled.

'You taught me. It's not my fault I outstripped you.'

'Outstripped me? I think not, sister dear.'

'Let me go!' Reiko suddenly gasped, shaking. 'Please! Let me go!' The two sisters looked towards each other and smirked before they suddenly flew towards the sea. Reiko's heart plummeted to his feet and his fear of heights was momentarily forgotten. 'Not that way!' he hollered. Delia blinked.

'Why not?' Eve stared at her.

'Why are you even _conversing _with that scum? Don't listen to him!' Reiko kept struggling.

'If you go that way, you'll be killed!' he tried to fight the panic out of his voice with the result that he sounded as though he were being strangled. Delia stopped at that point, wings still flapping but flying in the same spot. She looked towards Eve, who looked back at her scornfully. Reiko whimpered as his fear began to take over again. He screwed his eyes shut and hid his face in her shoulder. Delia screwed her nose up and tried to push his head away but found to her anger that Reiko wouldn't budge.

'Eve...I think we should listen to him.'

'Don't talk shit. He's a vampire. We can't trust their kind.' Reiko gave vent to a kind of low moan.

'If we go anywhere near the sea, the dragon will smell the scent and it shall rise to devour you all.' Eve started to laugh as she heard Reiko's words.

'Please...it's high. The vampire is high. You can't possibly be listening to what he's saying, can you?' The younger sister looked towards Reiko, who was shaking in her arms and then looked towards her elder.

'I think we should listen to him,' she said again. Eve shook her head in disbelief before she suddenly charged at Delia. She squealed before letting go off Reiko. The vampire's cry of panic mingled with Delia's squeal before he fell silent as he collided against the ground.

Eve flew onwards while Delia landed beside the fallen vampire. Reiko slowly opened his eyes and blinked once or twice, trying to clear his vision.

'Are you okay?' Reiko didn't answer her, only blinked groggily, his head spinning and aching, as though there was some kind of creature chewing at his brain. There was a sudden roar and a high pitched scream. Delia recognized it instantly, and ran to investigate.

Eve lay dead on the ground, blood streaming out of various wounds from her body. Delia gasped with shock and moved closer, unable to believe what she was seeing. Her sister's eyes stared up at the sky, blank, expressionless, her mouth hanging open, slack.

Delia stiffened as she heard a sudden roar from behind her. She turned too late, only to see the dragon bear down upon her.

The third sister landed at the scene. Through some miracle, the dragon appeared not to notice her and simply submerged into the water, sleeping off its latest meal just as she landed. She did not ever see it. She swallowed hard as she saw the discarded bodies of her two sisters. A little way away, she saw a third figure. It moved painfully, slowly.

She ran towards it but stopped seeing it was the vampire from before. Blood was leaking out of a few wounds, but he was now conscious and appeared bewildered and disorientated. He croaked and the harpy bent down to try and catch what it was he said.

'Where's Delia?' he groaned. The sister's eyes welled up with tears and she was filled with a sudden unexplainable hate.

'You killed them!' Reiko shook his head weakly.

'I didn't...it was the dragon...' The sister screamed with fury at this remark and brought her foot against his chest. He coughed painfully and curled up, trying to protect himself with strength he didn't have. Darkness washed over his vision and he was only certain that he was in tremendous pain.

He was vaguely aware that the harpy had yanked his head back and was forcing his mouth open, placing her neck against his lips. He groaned and jerked his head away, trying to avoid drinking her blood. The harpy paused, muttered something and let him go before she began to kick and punch him, finally drawing a knife and stabbing him in the chest multiple times, missing his heart whether accidentally or purposely he did not know.

The harpy left him alone, leaving him weak and his blood seeping out onto the ground, pooling around him. He struggled to open his eyes, and everything was hazy and unclear. He slowly, painfully, rolled onto his stomach, gasping harshly with pain and levered himself up, pushing himself from the ground.

He staggered and managed to hobble over to the nearest alley, holding one hand against the wall for support. A cat bolted past him, hissing loudly. The world seemed to sway around him and he staggered again, falling onto his knees. He knelt there, shaking, sweat beading on his face, his hands moving to his chest, to try and stem the flow.

He heard voices at the end of the alley, and could hear the soft footsteps and the voices of people walking past. He forced himself to get to his feet, gasping as he felt hot blood oozing out of his mouth. He staggered over towards the end of the alley and fell heavily, collapsed onto his side, trembling.

He heard distantly the sound of footsteps and a shallow gasp.

'Reiko! Reiko what happened? Who did this to you? Reiko!' His eyes struggled to focus. He opened his mouth to try and speak but blood came spewing out. He felt a hand tenderly wipe away the blood and pick him up, dragging him to a location he was not yet sure of. He gasped again with pain before he finally felt himself losing his senses to the darkness that was engulfing him.

He woke up a little later, to find that Remy was sitting beside him, wiping away blood from his mouth and bathing his forehead with a damp cloth. He swallowed hard and moaned groggily.

'Just rest, Reiko. It's okay. You're safe.' Reiko looked around, recognizing the place he was in instantly. The guild. He was lying on the couch upstairs, with Remy sitting on the table. Remy was right now staring at him in concern. 'What happened?' Reiko shivered softly and struggled to sit up. Remy pushed him back down. 'What happened?' he repeated again, his voice low, angry.

'I was attacked.'

'Harpies did this.' It wasn't a question. Reiko saw the rage in his eyes and groaned.

'They don't know any better. Give them a chance, Remy.'

'A chance to do what? To get the job done properly this time and kill you? The Master must have been _mad _to set you this task!'

'Don't let anyone else but me hear you say that...I don't want you dead.'

'Neither do I.' The two watched each other steadily. Remy's eyes bored into him, and they seemed alight with something that Reiko didn't recognize. He sighed softly and slowly sat up, this time managing it. The head vampire shivered slightly and curled up on himself to try and stave away the cold. Remy hadn't moved his gaze away from Reiko and suddenly leant forward, capturing his lips in a quick kiss. Reiko's eyes widened with shock and he turned rigid in his arms. He let out a soft whimper, which Remy took as encouragement. He pulled him closer to his body, and Reiko whined softly in his throat before he began to struggle and writhe. Remy frowned slightly and kissed him more forcefully. Reiko trembled in his arms before he suddenly let out a piercing scream and pushed Remy away from him, causing him to crash into the wall heavily.

Remy slowly righted himself and frowned at Reiko, who flinched under his gaze and seemed to shrink into himself, crouching on the couch, his eyes wild and wide, his hands clenched into fists. He looked like a terrified cornered animal. Remy slowly stood up and came towards him, earning him a short whimper and causing Reiko to tremble alarmingly.

'Reiko, I-'

'Don't come any closer!' Remy stopped. Reiko's voice had sounded a cross between a growl and a shriek.

'Reiko, please! I-'

'No!'

'I didn't mean-'

'SHUT UP! I don't want to hear it! JUST SHUT UP!' His voice broke and he swallowed hard, trying to calm himself. The trembling grew worse, his eyes widened even more, and Remy was filled with icy dread as he saw they were tear-filled. Reiko's teeth began to chatter with fear, at which Remy took another pace towards him.

'Reiko...'

'I SAID DON'T COME ANY CLOSER! JUST STAY AWAY!' He broke down completely into harsh sobs, blood running from his eyes down his cheeks. Remy watched, shock robbing him of all speech as Reiko suddenly stumbled to his feet and jerkily dashed towards the door, falling down the stairs in his hurry to get out.

'REIKO!' Remy ran after him but knew that it was too late. The vampire was nowhere to be found. Remy cursed and swore before he crouched down at the door of the guild, feeling as though he'd been stabbed in the stomach. He remembered the look of horror on Reiko's face, the fear that had visibly blinded him. What had happened? He'd been the cause of those terrible expressions that had passed over Reiko's face. It was his fault. He rested his head onto his knees, hiding his face, and wept.

Lorelei sat comfortably in the sitting room, flicking through some magazines that had been thoughtfully placed for her. She munched on an apple as she curled up on a chair flicking through them. She sighed as she reached the last page and looked around for something else to read, her eyes landing on a thick binded book with a leather cover.

She picked it up and flicked to the first page, blinking as she saw photographs. She blinked and smiled. It appeared as though Reiko had left his photo album lying around. Careless...but while she was here, she may as well flick through the pictures. She turned the pages eagerly, noticing that nearly all the pictures were of him. Under most of the pictures, there was a caption stating when the photo was taken, and what the occasion was. It was then that she realized that the captions only appeared under the photographs that had his parents in them.

She blinked when she saw a gap in the photo album, the caption underneath it reading, "Our last time together". Her thoughts flew immediately to the photo frame she had seen in Reiko's bedroom and she knew instinctively that the photo once had been here.

She turned the page and red spots seemed to dance in front of her vision. She stared blankly at the blood stained page before she shut it heavily and put it back where she found it. She chewed her lip and looked around before she reached for the album again and opened it at the last page.

_There was blood everywhere. A boy sat by the side of a ruined car, shivering, a blanket covering his narrow shoulders. There were policemen, ambulances, paramedics. The boy sat to one side, forgotten and alone, his eyes wide and frightened. A woman slowly came towards him and crouched down in front of him. The boy looked towards her glassily._

_'Where's my Mommy? Where's my Daddy?' The woman looked at him for some time, as though considering. _

_'They've...gone.'_

_'Gone? Gone where? Why didn't they take me? I want my Mommy!'_

_'Do you have any relatives? Any cousins? Grandparents?' The boy shook his head._

_'Gran'pa died a month ago...'The woman chewed at her lip but then sighed._

_'Come with me...' The boy blinked but then took the woman's hand in his own, his eyes confused. He craned his head to look back towards the car and gasped when he saw a paramedic placing a dead man onto a stretcher._

_'Oto-sama! Kaa-sama!' he cried. 'Iie! Onegai!' He ran towards the stretcher but the woman was quick in picking him up. He struggled against her grip and managed to stretchout an arm towards the stretcher, tears streaking his face. 'Iie! Onegai! Kaa-sama!' he screamed. _

Lorelei gasped as she heard a sudden knock on the door. She blinked, trying to clear her head from the vision and slowly stood up. She had just walked into the hallway when the front door suddenly flew open, revealing Reiko, crying and shaking. Lorelei's eyes widened and she caught him as he threw himself forward, sobbing pathetically.

She sank down onto the floor, with him cradled in her eyes. He instinctively threw his arms around her neck and cried against her. Lorelei held him close, blinking, chewing her lip out of consternation.

'Reiko...' she whispered at last. 'Reiko, it's okay...calm down...' Reiko raised his tearstained face to stare at her wildly.

'He's going to...'

'Going to what?'

'He's going to hurt me...he's going to...put me through it again...' He swallowed hard, tried to stem his tears but failed, breaking down completely. Lorelei hugged him close, pity washing away any of her old hostility towards him.

'Sssh...' she tried to soothe him. 'No one's going to hurt you. No one's going to put you through anything.'

_Rain pattered down onto the ground, mingling with blood..._

She shook her head lightly and held him closer.

'Lore...' he whimpered

'It's okay...I'm here...No one's going to hurt you...'

'They're all after me...'

'No one's after you. You're safe. You're home...' She squeezed him lightly and rubbed his back. Reiko nuzzled into her, closing his eyes, exhausted.

_He screamed into the night, tears blinding his vision. Blood streamed down his body, all from a wound in his neck. Cruel fangs glimmered in the shadows before a man lowered his head, licking at the wound. His victim turned rigid before a low, pained moan dribbled out. The vampire laughed before moving away, leaving a slovenly haired man twitching on the ground, breathing his last._

She licked at dry lips and looked down at Reiko, who's face was hidden against her shoulder, the pale skin of his neck exposed. She stared at it for a while but could see no marks of the vampire's attack on him.

'Reiko?' she whispered tentatively. Reiko whimpered softly and slowly raised his head. Lorelei stared into his eyes and saw the face of the frightened child again. 'I think you should rest. You've had a great shock,' she murmured softly.

'You don't know what happened, do you?'

'No...no I don't...but I know you're scared...and that you need rest.' Reiko's grip suddenly tightened on her, but not enough to cause pain. Lorelei smiled softly at him and returned the hug, marveling at the fact that in spite of his obvious terror, he was still trying to be as gentle as he possibly could with her.

'Don't go...' he said softly, his eyes suddenly far away.

'I'm not going anywhere,' she soothed. His eyes suddenly drooped and he relaxed against her completely.

'_Kaa-sama_...' he whimpered, barely audible, his voice breathless. Lorelei stroked her fingers through his hair and cuddled him close as he slept against her, still holding her tightly. She rested her back against the wall and leant her head against it, staring up at the ceiling.

She had thought that Reiko was evil, because he was a vampire. Yet he had cried in front of her, and had shown such familiar emotions as he had held her and sobbed. In some ways, he seemed to be more human than her own family.

It was then that she forgave Reiko completely, and decided to sweep her grudges completely to one side.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

The same heavy, downcast mood seemed to prevail at Devil May Cry. Dante had returned home only a few nights ago, after he had disappeared for a week after going out to drink that night. This in itself had concerned Trish, causing her to leap up with concern as the door opened, revealing the red-clad Demon Hunter. She had grown even more concerned when she had seen his unnatural quiet demeanor, and his pale face.

She felt a huge block of icy fear lodge inside her stomach and chest, fearing that Dante had undergone the painful change of turning into a vampire. Her fears were soon ill founded when she watched him move to the fridge, take out a beer and flop back into his favorite chair, guzzling the contents of the can with one gulp.

He sat there morosely, staring at the flames. Trish swallowed nervously and glanced at him quickly before quickly averting her eyes and stared at the fireplace too, as though trying to search out for whatever it was that was so interesting. It was while she was watching the flames as they performed their deadly dance, that she realized that she had never seen Dante act in such a way. All she knew was that she did not like it, and that she was scared.

For the rest of the evening, Trish tip-toed around Dante, his sour, bitter mood so palpable and tangible that it was almost as though there were three people in the room instead of just two. It hung around in the air like a dark ghost, and Trish could feel its eyes upon her, even though Dante never looked away from the fireplace.

At length, tired of Dante sitting so sullenly by himself, she grabbed a can of beer from the fridge and placed it at his side. Dante took it in his hand automatically, without looking at her and then drank it down. Trish stared at him in shock.

'Dante...' Dante remained still. 'Dante. What's wrong?' Dante slowly, robotically turned towards her, his eyes shining slightly with a look that she did not recognize. 'Dante?' It was then that the devil hunter suddenly seemed to break down into shuddering gasps.

'I failed...' his voice was hoarse, a low rasping moan. 'I failed, Trish...I failed.' Trish was shocked into silence. 'The dragon's real,' Dante groaned. 'I was a fool to try and suggest that it wasn't. The dragon is real and there's nothing I can do about it. I can't fight a monster like that. I fight demons. Not dragons. I couldn't even save his life...'

'Who's life? Dante, you're not making any sense!' The hunter suddenly grew deadly silent and his eyes welled up with more tears. He shook his head angrily, growling softly to himself, as though ashamed of his tears. Trish sighed, seeing him do this. Dante caught sight of her, mistaking her blank stare for a look of pity. He glared at her.

'Stop looking at me like that!' he snapped.

'Like what?' Dante waved a hand an irritation.

'Like _that_!' Trish mirrored his gaze, her eyes turning suddenly cold.

'I just want to help, Dante. You won't let me in! You never do! I just want to know what's going on!'

'I failed and a child lost his life! That's what happened!' Trish sighed.

'You're not perfect, Dante. You can fail once or twice, you know?' Dante stared at her in disbelief.

'That's the difference between you and me. An innocent little kid lost his life because I failed to save him.'

'So?' Dante couldn't help but stare at her. Trish wondered what she had said that was so wrong. She gasped with shock as she heard Dante's next words.

'I was right about you...you'll never be anything more than a demon. You don't understand anything, do you?' Trish's eyes welled up with tears and she looked away, angry and hurt.

'I don't understand why you get so shaken up about a single person dying, when so many others have died before. Did you fail them too? Those vampires at the guild massacre?'

'They were adults...they'd lived a life.'

'How old was the child?'

'I think about six or so.'

'Where were his parents?'

'They were dead.'

'And what kind of life is that for a kid to lead? It's better this way.' Trish realized as soon as those words left her mouth, that perhaps she had gone too far. Dante stared at her numbly, the words sinking in slowly. He shivered slightly and then looked away from Trish. She sighed softly.

'I'm sorry, Dante...I didn't mean that...I...I just want to help. I don't like seeing you so upset. It's not like you!'

'I don't need any help, I've got my pride,' Dante grumbled to himself.

'That's your problem. You have too much pride. If you'd let someone in once in a while then perhaps you wouldn't feel so bad when something _does_ go wrong.' Dante glared at her, still holding the teddy as though it had suddenly become a part of him. Trish swallowed hard, trying to ignore the insult to her past. However, it just wouldn't leave. Her eyes stung with tears again but she looked away angrily, determined not to cry in front of him.

Dante got up, the bear in his hands still and went to the kitchen. Trish peered in after him and stared in bewilderment as he tried to wash the blood off the toy. Fifteen minutes passed, but Trish couldn't take her eyes away from the sight of Dante scrubbing furiously at the now soaked bear. He suddenly slowed down, and stopped, staring down at the toy in shock, coming to realize what Trish had noticed long before.

The blood had become nothing but an indelible stain. It could not be removed. It was now a part of the bear, a part of its fabric of being. Trish watched Dante's face carefully, and was struck by an unsettling thought. Perhaps the spilt blood had become a part of him also.

She swallowed hard and backed out of the doorway, before Dante noticed her standing there. Dante frowned and then started to scrub at the bear fiercely, as though somehow, he'd be able to get rid of it, knowing as he scrubbed that he would fail, just as he had failed the boy, just as he had failed.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and he gave a sudden start, quickly whirling around to face the door, dreading for a ridiculous moment that it was the dragon. He mentally chided himself as soon as he thought this, and went to open the door. If it was a dragon, it wouldn't have knocked. If it was a demon? Well, it wouldn't have even dared to set foot on his doorstep.

He slowly opened the door and blinked as he saw a violet eyes, blond woman standing there.

'I was told you could help me.'

'Password.'

'There's a dragon about.' Dante froze, feeling his hands turn to ice and his heart stop as he heard her words. 'It's destroying everything.'

'I know...' his voice came out as a whisper, and the girl frowned. This "Dante" that she had heard of did not whisper. He was meant to be bold and brace, not hiding behind a door.

'Can I come in?'

'I cannot help you.'

'Isn't this the kind of stuff you deal with?' Her tone of voice was angered. Dante looked back at her, his eyes blank, as though he were not quite awake.

'I deal with demons.'

'This dragon _is _a demon! It's terrorizing those of us who know about it!' Dante sighed.

'I can't help you. I can't help anyone. I'm sorry. Goodbye.' The door clicked shut, not the action of an angered man, but the action of someone who had too much weighing on them.

Trish watched the whole episode from the top of the stairs and sighed. What had happened to her Dante? He hadn't ever backed away from a challenge. She sighed and then returned to her room, planning to research. The sooner she found out how they could kill this beast, the better.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

The moon paled before disappearing as though by magic from the night sky. The sun began to rise, and filtered through stained windows that shattered its light, causing the sun to scatter across walls, floors, faces.

A mansion set in the middle of lush gardens did not escape this treatment as the sun broke through the windows and beamed down onto the floor, just inches away from where two people lay against the hallway wall, sleeping peacefully against each other.

Lorelei slept with her back against the wall, her head falling forward, her hair hanging over her eyes. Her arms were wrapped around Reiko, who was resting his head against her chest, unmindful of the fact that Lorelei still had a hand buried into his jet black hair, and that she was leaning her head against the top of his.

It seemed to have been a comfortable arrangement, and Lorelei smiled and opened her eyes as she felt the sun filtering through the window. She watched where the dust motes danced in the air for a few minutes before she smiled and shuffled slowly towards the sun, Reiko still in her grasp.

Reiko stirred slightly in her arms, but she failed to notice. She smiled as the sun hit her full on the face, making her copper streaked hair shimmer and dance in the sunlight. She settled back against the wall and smiled, relaxing in the warmth. Reiko's eyes snapped open at that precise moment, giving vent to a pained cry. Lorelei looked towards him and frowned.

'What is it? What's wrong?' She soon understood, as she watched Reiko's face carefully and then noticed the burnt hand. The look on his face was one of pure agony but his expression suddenly worsened as the sun grew stronger, and the patch of sunlight grew in size, expanding to cover his burnt hand, his arm and a portion of his chest. He gasped, tortured before he staggered backwards, out of the sun and fled upstairs, stumbling, the pain dazzling his sight and blinding him. Lorelei was left standing there, stunned. For a minute, she had been able to forget his race, and had been able to treat him like a human.

She sighed and followed him up the stairs, hearing a door slam shut. She licked at dry lips as she knocked timidly on the door.

'Reiko?' she called. 'Can I come in?' At first, there was no answer, but she blinked as she heard a sudden loud pained hiss, sounding as though it was more from frustration than anything else. She hesitated and then nervously opened the door. The room was empty, and everything was in it's right place, save for a discarded shirt that the vampire had not bothered to wash just yet. Further examination proved that it was the shirt he had been wearing. She frowned again and then sighed with relief as she noticed that the door to his en-suit had been left slightly ajar, and that he hadn't suddenly disappeared on the spot.

She opened it and sighed, watching as Reiko ran his hand under the cold water tap, in the hopes that it would soothe his pain. He stood there bare-chested, his eyes focused only on the running water, and the angry red burns on his hand. Lorelei took in his appearance critically. The burns on his arm were far less worse than the ones on his hand, and though she could see where his chest had hit the rays of the sun, she could see that already it had begun to heal. What was most worrying, was the fact that there were angry red slashes across his back, as though someone had sliced at his skin, and his wounds had failed to heal properly.

'Reiko?' She murmured softly. The vampire started with shock and turned quickly, blinking at her, confused.

'Yes?' His voice held a polite inquiry, nothing more, nothing less. He did not seem angry or embarrassed that he was semi-naked in front of her.

'Are you okay?' The vampire looked taken aback by Lorelei's question but then nodded.

'I am fine. This is not the first time I have found myself with something as troublesome as a burn.' His voice was incredibly steady, despite the pain that was evident in his hazel eyes, and the tight set of his jaw. It seemed as though it took all of his willpower not to scream and cry in pain. She realized then and there that she had probably been staring at him for too long. Reiko apparently seemed to think the same, for he coughed and stood there awkwardly, almost shyly and regarded her, the steadiness in his gaze wavering somewhat.

'You must be disgusted.' He said suddenly. Lorelei was taken completely by surprise.

'What?' Reiko was silent, but was looking at her intensely.

'You must be disgusted,' he repeated. 'You must be disgusted that you are living with a being such as I. I am sorry. I am aware that I do not make the best host.' He paused and ran a hand through his short black hair, as though he was finding this whole conversation awkward. 'It was never my intention to...to take you from your home,' he laboured on. 'It certainly wasn't my intention to make you miserable in my presence. And I definitely never wanted to make you hate me. I am sorry about this whole predicament you somehow managed to find yourself in.' His eyes seemed to dance slightly as he restlessly scanned the walls and the shadows for some unknown creature that might come out and attack him. He looked towards her again. 'If you wish...I could...always ask Dante whether...whether he could find a new place for you to stay...that is...if being here troubles you to...to such a great extent.'

She looked up into the drowning depths of those hazel eyes, and she opened her mouth to say something, but nothing was forthcoming. A small, almost sad smile appeared on his face and he turned away, his back towards her, resuming his attempt to heal his wounds. Lorelei suddenly found her tongue again.

'What happened last night?' The effects of these words were instantaneous. His back turned rigid, and his eyes widened. He turned around and opened his mouth to say something, but then thought better of it and shook his head. Instead, he looked ashamed.

'Nothing.'

'You were crying.' Lorelei was quick to point out.

'So?'

'Vampires don't cry.' She said unthinkingly. Reiko winced at that, and looked stung.

'This one does.' He sighed and turned back to the sink, running his hand under the water again, listening to the sound of it as it trickled down the drain.

'You were very upset last night. You were crying like your heart was broken, or as though something just as bad had happened.' She watched as those eyes dimmed, and he slowly looked away from her, his eyes focused on the floor.

'It...I...I overreacted. That is all. I behaved foolishly.'

'Crying isn't foolish though.'

'But it is for the weak,' came the sharp retort. He suddenly paused. 'But...I _am_ weak. Weak-minded. It is disgustingly easy to frighten me...' His voice trailed off at that point, and he breathed out deeply. Lorelei folded her arms, and tried to look severe.

'Are you going to tell me what happened?'

'No.'

'Why not?'

'You wouldn't understand.'

'Maybe not,' she agreed. 'But it's good to talk.' Reiko finally turned off the tap, and shook his hand slightly, trying to shake off some water, as though his action answered her. Lorelei frowned and found her eyes staring a little below his back before forcing herself to look up at the ceiling, pretending to look for cracks in the paint. 'Did you hurt your back? It looks raw.'One of his hands went instinctively towards his back and he winced.

' Ow...Shit!' he cursed. Lorelei didn't look surprised at his outburst.

'I'm sure some ice would help it. Do you want me to get you some?' Reiko looked at her cautiously, as though trying to realize whether she was being sincere or not. At last, he gave in.

'All right,' he sighed.. As Lorelei went downstairs, he raised his arm to the light, noting how quickly it had healed. His chest had also healed by this time, and his hand looked as though it was also mending well. But what Lorelei had said about his back worried him intensely. This was not the first time it had happened, but as a vampire who'd actually been able to retain his soul, his memories as a human were vivid and clear. In times of great stress, or when he was reminded forcibly of certain memories, his body would show the scars and the wounds he had sustained at that moment. The vampire did not know why this happened. He had often wondered whether it was a reminder of all the pain he had witnessed throughout his life, or a warning about what might happen if he let his guard down for even a second.

He sighed and stretched, but his back suddenly cracked, causing him to gasp shallowly with pain. He hobbled over painfully towards his bed before he flopped down on it and buried his head under the pillow, waiting for the waves of pain to die own completely from his body.

Lorelei returned a few minutes later with a bag of ice. She blinked when she saw how Reiko had sprawled out on his stomach. The wounds on his back looked even worse, and there was a section that seemed swollen. She frowned and then slowly placed the ice on the inflamed section, jumping with shock as Reiko took in a harsh gasp of air and arched his back.

'SHIT!'

'Okay! I'm sorry! Just lie back down, it's become all swollen!' Reiko turned his head this way and that, trying to look at her without moving his back. He grumbled before he lay back down and sighed out deeply before stiffening as there was a sudden crack that filled the air. The marks on his back grew more pronounced, and even more slashes appeared. Lorelei watched in horror as Reiko cried out in agony.

His voice died down to a pained whimper and he burrowed his head into the pillow. Lorelei stood about uncertainly, unsure as to what to do.

'Has this happened before?' Reiko let out another whimper, which sounded suspiciously like "yes". Lorelei felt a surge of sudden irritation.

'Well how did you fix it last time?' Reiko raised his head slowly from the pillow and looked at her balefully.

'I didn't,' he said, simply, grouchily. Lorelei sighed again and started pacing. 'I was, however, incapacitated for a few days. It is unfortunate this had to happen at such a time as now. I can't really afford to stay home in bed when I have duties to attend to.' Lorelei looked at him quickly at that point.

'Duties?'

'I am the Head Vampire of this city,' he reminded her.

'You can't ask someone else to take over for a while?' She watched him, but he made no move, as though afraid it would hurt him further. His eyes suddenly drooped and he lowered his head again. 'You're going to sleep?'

'There is nothing else I can do until I fully heal.' He closed his eyes at that point, and turned his head away from her, signaling that there was nothing more to be said. Lorelei sighed.

'Well, I'm going to stay here, just in case there's anything you need.' There was no answer. Lorelei sighed and curled up in a comfortable looking chair and shortly afterwards fell asleep. And dreamt.

_It had been the first day of school, and as always, as with any school, her mother had decided to accompany her. And march her to the headmaster's office. The children would all peer out of their classrooms, curious as to what this girl had done to incur the headmaster's wrath on the first day of school._

_Lorelei peered around the new office, taking note of the paperwork on the desk, the computer monitor that tilted at an awkward angle, the photographs of past headmasters and headmistresses. It was strange how each office she had ever been to had the same layout, as though there was some secret guidebook on how to furnish an office._

_The secretary looked up from her incessant typing as the door buzzed, admitting them in. Lorelei knew what would happen immediately. They would stand t the doorway, until the head turned around and beckoned them to sit down. And then her mother would launch into a lengthy explanation about why she was there, and why she had needed to talk to him._

_They stood. He beckoned. They sat. She talked. Lorelei sank down further and further into the seat as she heard her mother go through the normal speech._

'_Mr. Jones .My daughter is not any ordinary girl. She needs to be carefully watched and monitored throughout her time at this school.She has never had the best of health, and we thought that this school would be the most suitable as we have heard of your reputation for actually caring about each individual student.' Bullshit, Lorelei had thought to herself. Her mother spoke complete shit. She had said that to every school, not just this one._

_She looked around the office some more, but was quickly bored.Her mother continued to drone on in the same vein, on and on and on and on. And somewhere in her head, she could hear someone screaming._

Her eyes snapped open at that point, and the screaming did not disappear. She looked around, confused and bewildered, until she realized that Reiko was tossing his head this way and that, whimpering but crying out loudly every so often. She frowned slightly before she crept towards him and placed a hand gently on his shoulder.

'Reiko?' she called out to him quietly. He shuddered and a choked sob issued forth from his lips. She looked at his back again before she decided to risk shaking him into wakefulness. 'Reiko, wake up! You're having a bad dream. Come on, wake up!'

His eyes snapped open, glazed over with unshed bloody tears and acting on instinct, grabbed her tightly around her wrist. She gasped with pain, his vampire strength crushing her hand.

'Reiko...stop! You're...You're _hurting _me!'

She froze and her eyes widened as the walls of the room suddenly seemed to fall away, giving way to a dark night, filled with rainfall. She stared around in shock and surprise, and found herself in an alleyway. She turned in a full circle before she was able to understand what had happened, and where she was.

She stared in surprise as she watched Reiko run past the alleyway, dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans, a red shirt, and a denim jacket, a man giving chase, quickly closing the gap. She ran to the end but gasped as she watched Reiko slam to the ground, crying out in pain. His attacker lifted him clear off the ground, so that Reiko was kicking at thin air, choking against his grasp.

She yelped and quickly ran back into the alley, hoping she wouldn't be spotted, but turned around in dismay as she saw the man dragging Reiko into the alley, one hand over his mouth, muffling his cries. He struggled madly, before he suddenly snarled and bit down into his attacker's hand. The man's eyes widened, and his mouth fell open, more with surprise than anything else. Reiko cried out again in pain as he was dropped to the ground roughly.

It was only then that Lorelei realized that no matter what Reiko did, he would lose. For what he was fighting was a vampire. She stared at the gleaming fangs, and the anger that forced the vampire's pupils to contract.

'You've got a bit of spunk, haven't you kid?' He looked down in contemplation at his hand, and at the tooth marks that blemished his skin. He looked down at Reiko, and Reiko's eyes widened, as he realized too late that what he should have done was run while he still could.

'Stay away from me!' he growled, trying to sound threatening. Lorelei's heart went out to him as she saw him for what he really was; not much more than a boy, barely an adult. 'I know what you are. I could tell everyone! If you stay away from me, I won't tell.' The vampire smiled indulgently at the hazel-eyed boy.

'Kid, if you tell people that I'm a vampire...do you really think they'd believe you? You'd end up in a nut house. And that would be the end of it.' He looked at him hungrily at that point, and Lorelei could see something flicker in his eyes. Reiko also saw it, for he started to scramble backwards while on the floor, trying to get away even while the vampire came towards him. He struggled again as the vampire picked him up, his feet kicking out in every direction, his hands laying over the hands of the vampire, trying to stop himself from choking to death.

Reiko cried out sharply in pain as his back was slammed against the wall, the vampire crushing his body against his, pinning him to the wall, ensuring he could not get away. His plan was simple, yet effective, but not for lack of trying. Reiko pushed at him, trying to knock him away so he could make a dash for it, and finally be free again.

It was then that the vampire kissed him deeply, forcefully. Reiko's eyes widened with shock and he turned completely rigid, his voice dying out completely as the vampire continued. He eventually let out a muffled whimper and closed his eyes tightly, tears trickling down from underneath his closed eyes. A few minutes passed before Reiko's mind was finally able to register what was happening, and he began to squirm, whimpering loudly. He gasped with pain again as the vampire pulled away harshly, splitting Reiko's lip open with his fangs.

The two stared at each other, the vampire's eyes flickering again with that same element as before. Lorelei suddenly understood that look for what it really was. Lust. Pure unadulterated lust. Reiko stared back at the vampire, his eyes dawning with realization. His bottom lip trembled, and blood trickled down his chin. Tears continued to roll down his cheeks, despite the steadiness of his voice when he spoke.

'You don't want to do this.' The vampire smiled indulgently at that.

'I find it amusing how you presume you know what I want and don't want.' He leaned in, pressing the man's shoulders into the wall, pinning him there and lapped at the blood on his chin. 'Delicious...as I knew it would be.' Reiko screwed his eyes shut and shied away from him. The vampire smiled again before throwing him to the ground, causing Reiko to land awkwardly.

Lorelei's eyes widened, knowing what was going to happen, knowing that she was powerless to help, knowing that no matter how she screamed and cried, no one would come to save him. She sobbed and tore out from her hiding place behind some trash cans and ran to the end of the alley way, casting a look in their direction before she ran out into the open, into a pool of light given off by a nearby street lamp.

'Someone, anyone! Please! Please hear me!' she cried desperately. She stared about and realized that this part of town was deserted. All the lights in the houses were off, and there was no sign of anyone. Almost distantly, through the pounding of her blood in her ears, she could hear pleading, and then screaming.

She collapsed at that point, horrified by what she almost bore witness to, and revolted by the acts that were taking place in the alleyway. She cried almost to the point of being sick but eventually forced herself to calm down, her stomach aching, her body shivering in protest to her violent sobbing. And as she sat there, taking deep breaths, she realized that everything had turned silent. Trembling, she forced herself to turn back, and see what had happened.

Reiko lay in a heap, panting, his eyes closed from exhaustion. Scars decorated his back, a sign of the vampire's violent delight, and the vampire's way of branding the boy as his own. He was covered from the waist down by his jacket and he rose partially before collapsing. The vampire, already dressed, watched him indulgently before he smirked and walked towards him. Reiko rose his head despairingly and forced himself to meet the vampire's eyes.

'You're quick at recovering, aren't you?' Reiko made no reply to this but only stared at him jaded and mournfully. 'And to think, you could tell everyone what happened, couldn't you?' Reiko glared at him, spitting out blood.

'You fucking bastard...' he rasped. 'You fucking little bastard.' His voice was like poison, but the vampire brushed this off by giving another twisted smile.

'You have a filthy mouth, boy. I shall have to silence it.' Reiko's eyes widened with a mixture of bewilderment and alarm as he was lifted off his feet. He screamed out in sheer agony as the vampire snapped his back in two, as though he were nothing more than a twig and then dropping him.

Reiko groaned in pain but could not make a single move. He lay there quietly, barely breathing, dazed from the pain, his eyes half open. Lorelei watched in horror as the vampire bent down and almost tenderly secured Reiko's jacket around his waist.

'This night was fun,' he said, a cruel parody of a dating couple. 'Maybe we can do this again sometime.' A slow tear trickled down Reiko's cheek, coming to mingle with the dust on the ground. His wet, rain soaked hair clung to his face, making him look even more youthful.

The vampire seemed to melt into the darkness, and Lorelei waited for her vision to pass, and waited to find herself back in Reiko's luxurious manor. Nothing happened. She remained sitting beside Reiko, who cried softly in the darkness. She tried to place a hand on him, but he was like a ghost, untouchable, yet with such tangible feelings. She sighed and remained by his side, leaning against a wall, her eyes closed. They snapped open when she heard a new voice.

'...His victim.' A new vampire knelt beside Reiko, examining his body. By this time, Reiko's eyes had dropped even more, so that she could only see a sliver of hazel. She stood up, planning useless defences, but blinked when the vampire very gently, very carefully rolled Reiko onto his stomach and held him to him, like a mother would to a child.

He was not careful enough, and Reiko cried out hoarsely in pain, unable to move on his own accord. The vampire stared into his face for a moment before he lowered his head to his neck and drank deeply from him. Reiko's eyes widened ever so slightly, and he let out another low pained moan. The vampire pulled away suddenly and blinked down at him.

'You're going to die if I do not help.' Reiko said nothing but closed his eyes fully, exhausted. 'I don't wish for you to die just now. Drink.'

'Nnnooo...' Reiko whispered weakly.

'I give you no choice. You shall be turned.' The vampire bit into his own wrist and forced Reiko's mouth open, forcing him to drink his blood. Reiko's eyes dimmed automatically and he turned completely limp in the vampire's arms, his breath rattling out harshly as he died.

Lorelei stared in shock at the scene before she looked towards the vampire, and then into the man's dead face.

'No...' she choked. 'You bastard!' She flew at him, a sudden rage taking over. The vampire raised his head, as though he had heard her, and Lorelei crashed head first into the smooth white wall of Reiko's bedroom and knew no more.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

If there was one thing that Trish hated, it was people who gave up and quit before anything had even started. So it was that Trish had found herself getting more and more irritated with Dante, who had at some point during the week gone to his bedroom and had never come back out again, not even to eat or even to drink the foul stuff he called beer, the "elixir of life".

Rose was a constant visitor to their agency, and whenever Trish looked at her, she could see a mix of desperation and impatience in her violet eyes.

'Don't worry,' Trish would encourage. 'He gets like this sometimes. He'll snap out of it soon.' At first, her voice had held a confidence which she herself had not felt, and as the days wore on, her remarks had sounded progressively hollow and meaningless. In truth, she had _never_ seen Dante act this way before, and she had no idea what she could possibly do to snap him out of it.

She was scared that he would do something thinkable, but by no means pleasant. She would spend hours outside his door, barely breathing, her ears strained until she caught any sound of movement from within. Sometimes, even then, she dared to open his door and would come face to face with his pale visage, his normally pale sparkling blue eyes darkened and filled with an awful resignation.

Sometimes she'd find him staring disconsolately out of the window, his eyes distant. Other times, she'd find him lying spread-eagled on the bed, staring but unseeing, as though he were blind.

She cried out to him at times, grabbing him by the shoulders and screaming until she had turned hoarse, begging to know what was wrong, and pleading with him to answer, to tell her that at least he was still her Dante somewhere inside the horrible cold shell he had become. But each and every time she did this, Dante's eyes would suddenly narrow and he'd pull away ad force her out of his room before slamming his bedroom door shut. The only way Trish had been able to get him to eat was by placing a plate in front of his door. When she'd return half an hour later, the plate would be empty, and Trish would be filled with a brief touch of satisfaction, which as soon as it filled her, left her feeling empty and even more depressed.

The only thing that could even be considered as remotely positive was the fact that Trish had been able to throw out all of his beer and had Rose to keep her company, which in itself was something of a new experience for Trish; she had never had much female company, to her there was only Dante. Rose was different though, she was actually of a similar mind of Trish, serious about the task at hand and trying to make light of the situation at the same time. The two had slowly become friends but despite this, Trish found that her thoughts were constantly returning to Reiko. She wondered how he was, and then suddenly remembered what his own mission was, to reunite the vampires and the harpies. She remembered instantly that she had told him that they'd try and help. She'd been sadly neglecting her promise.

She looked towards Rose and then smiled at her, an idea creeping into her mind hesitantly, as though afraid of offending the harpy that sat beside her on the couch watching daytime television while sipping sophisticatedly at coffee.

'Rose?' Her companion looked up towards her quickly. 'You said that you were a harpy, right?' She nodded. 'I don't know that much about your race; care to share?' The violet eyed woman blinked at the request before moving so she had kicked off her shoes and was sitting cross legged on the couch, staring thoughtfully at the ceiling.

'Well...' she began slowly. 'Harpies have wings.' She was silent. Trish blinked.

'Is that it?' Rose grinned.

'No. Harpies have _black _wings.' Trish glared at her but this only earned her a smile. 'It's odd that we have black wings though, considering we're meant to be holy. We are after all, servants of God.'

'Like angels?'

'We're _much_ lower down than angels. Angels are the highest rank before you get to God Himself...but then again there is the whole hierarchy within the angel society too. We're above humans, but below the angels. I guess another thing that makes us lower down than angels is the fact that angels have a pleasanter stereotype. They are, after all, meant to be loving and kind and gentle and sweet and caring and...'

'They are,' Trish said suddenly. Rose paused and looked towards her. Trish bit her lip. 'I...know one...or knew one anyway...' She lowered her head at that point, her face suddenly looking drawn and sad. Rose frowned.

'Are you all right?' Her companion looked up slowly and then nodded, attempting a smile.

'Yes...I'm fine...Can you carry on?'

'O-Of course.' Rose tried her hardest not to show surprise at the hybrid's show of obvious sorrow. She was silent for a moment, but then recollected her thoughts and laboured on.

'Uh...anyway...Harpies have a reputation for being cruel and aggressive and we're also known to be power hungry. We actually don't do much to dispel our reputation. We _are _like that. We punish those who do wrong.'

_Harpies lust for power. Harpies torment those who do wrong._

'I mean, us normal harpies don't care much for power, but the Harpy King and Queen have always been power hungry.'

'King and Queen? You guys have a monarchy?' Rose nodded but then frowned.

'We _do_ have a monarchy...but...' Trish looked towards her curiously as Rose's face darkened. 'But...well...our King went missing...he's the strongest Harpy of all time...and he was different too. I swear, he was more an angel than an angel itself. He was wonderful, and was kind. There's rumours going around that he's been trapped by the Harpy Queen, because she was power hungry, and he just wanted peace, you know?'

'Peace?'

'He wanted the same as what Reiko wants.' She quickly checked herself at that point. Trish raised her brow.

'Reiko? You know him?' Rose smiled.

'We met twice. He saved my life. He told me he wants to get peace.' Trish suddenly felt uncomfortable and something akin to jealousy as she wondered whether Reiko possibly liked this girl. Suddenly, Trish found those violet eyes of hers to be annoying and ugly. Eagerly, she searched for anything else that would lower her beauty and came up with nothing. Rose, oblivious kept babbling on.

'So, he's scared of heights! It's so endearing! It just makes me want to hug him! But of course, I'd _never_ do that. I have a reputation to keep of being aloof. But imagine! A vampire who's scared of heights? He practically turned green! It was so _cute_!'

'Yeah well it wouldn't have been cute if he puked up on those shoes of yours,' said Trish, determined to spoil the mood. Rose smiled dreamily.

'I really admire him for what he's trying to do.' She sighed happily. Trish sighed too, but for totally different reasons.

'Look, could we just talk about the monarchy again?' Rose poked her none too gently.

'Do I sense a hint of jealousy?'

'No!' Trish fumed.

'You like him, don't you?'

'Of course not. He's just my friend.'

'You're pretty lucky to be surrounded by _handsome_ friends, aren't you?' Trish scowled at her before she blushed and then sighed.

'So what if I like him? I like Dante more.'

'But does Dante like _you_?'

'Does _Reiko_ like me?'

'Good question...I don't even know if he likes _me_!' Rose sighed again as she rested her chin in her hand. Trish shrugged.

'This is a stupid conversation.'

'Oh right...you wanted to know more about the monarchy, right?' Trish nodded. Rose thought for a while before she began speaking again. 'Okay, so like I said, there's all these rumors going around. We haven't seen our King for a very long time. Without the King, things have been going haywire. The Queen has been feeding the harpies information about the vampires and nearly all of her subjects believe her. As for me? I think I'm the only one who actually thinks that all the Queen says is a load of crap!' Trish was about to say more at that point when a rubbish bin clattered to the ground, and a cat yowled with displeasure at the metallic sounds the bin made upon impact with the ground. Trish frowned, nerves on edge before she relaxed and tried again to speak. This time, the door was thrown off its hinges, landing with a crash at Trish's feet.

Rose gasped before jumping to her feet. Trish scowled before reaching for her sword.

'I suppose your leader sent you...' she chuckled, her voice low. She crouched low into her fighting stance, trying to imitate Dante. There were six of them in total, all demons that Trish had never had to face before in the whole of her life. They were small cat like creatures, and Trish guessed that they were nimble due to their size. They were black in colour, with amber eyes, the only thing distinguishing them from a normal house cat was the fact that their black fur kept trembling with sparks of blue electricity. One opened its mouth, and the sound it emitted was anything but catlike.

The piercing shriek the demon gave shattered the glass of the windows. Rose covered her ears and winced at the sound.

'Trish? What _are_ those!'

'I don't know...' She broke off speaking to cover her own ears, as all six of them gave vent to their dirge like shrieks in unison. One charged forward at Rose, before swinging around, forming a club like tail seemingly out of nowhere, smashing the harpy into a nearby wall. Rose cried out in pain, blood streaming from one side of her face. Trish whirled around, as though to help her up, before she too, was set upon by three of the demons.

She fired a few rounds into the demons, using her handguns that Dante had made especially for her. Nothing seemed to effect them. She hissed with frustration before she launched herself at them, tired of dodging. The hybrid whirled like a tornado, striking high, striking low, yet hitting nothing but thin air. Finally, one of her blows made contact, at exactly the same time as she too was hit. She fell to the floor, stunned by the blow.

For such small demons, they sure packed a punch.

The other three closed in upon her, sensing victory. Trish's eyes suddenly snapped open, as an amber light surrounded her, yellow sparks flying from her body, her hair lifting from her shoulders in a display of her raw strength. She felt all of her senses lift away from her and spiral upwards in a cloud of darkness as her inner demon began to take hold of her.

The cat-demons snarled and withdrew before launching themselves at her again, teeth gleaming, fangs sharp and deadly, dripping only God knew what. She didn't intend on finding out. She flew up on wings born of hatred before raining down thunderbolts from above at them. Before long, her powers had drained and she found herself back on the ground, with only one of the demons dead.

She gasped as she saw a sudden red blur appear in front of her. Dante. He turned around quickly, pulling her out of the middle of the fight and stood back to back against her.

'What are they weak against?'

'Dante...'

'Later...what are they weak against?'

'I don't know. I only managed to kill one when I was using my demon powers.' Dante growled softly in warning at the demons as they began to circle around. 'Guns have no effect on them.'

'Great...'

'Maybe water?'

'Water...I only have beer.'

'You don't even have beer anymore.'

'What?'

'I threw it out.' Dante's eyes narrowed with anger and his face immediately tightened.

'Trish when this is over I'll-' He had no time to say anything else, for at that precise moment, the demons initiated their attack once more. Dante moved immediately, his sword flashing, stabbing one right through the neck. He jerked his sword out before throwing himself upon another.

The remaining four cats decided to split up at this point so there were two against one. Trish found herself getting clubbed in the back of her legs, bringing her to the ground heavily. The other cat suddenly seemed to grow in side, the blue electricity hat she had noticed earlier pulsating more frequently across it's fur. Soon the cat had grown into a gigantic version of a black panther. Trish groaned softly with despair before she closed her eyes, unable to move as a huge paw pinned her down roughly.

'Dante!' Dante spun around, his eyes widening with shock as he saw Trish's dire predicament. He ran towards her only to have another one of his own demons grow in size and grab him forcefully like a bear. Dante cried out hoarsely in pain as he was promptly electrocuted. He fell to the ground a senseless heap.

The panther snarled as it raised it's other massive paw to come crashing down upon Trish's exposed neck. With her eyes closed, Trish could hear the panther's heavy breathing, could smell its foul breath, could feel its claws as they threatened to pierce her clothing and skin. All of this suddenly stopped with an ear splitting screech. Trish got to her feet quickly to see Rose sitting on the panther's back, her shining silver sword embedded in the panther's throat.

'That's their weak point. The throats are the weak point, I believe.' She turned to face the other, larger panther. 'I hope.' Trish smirked suddenly.

'Let's go.' She ran forwards, feeling her powers rising up again, taking her over. She succumbed to it immediately and flew forwards with amazing speed. This time, the panther was ready, and swatted her down as easily as if she had been a fly. The panther turned to Rose before opening its mouth, revealing its awesome fangs. Rose backed away, recognizing the clear liquid for what it really was. Venom. The panther crept towards her before suddenly before springing forwards, too quick for anybody's eye to see.

Anybody's, that is, except for a vampire's.

Reiko jammed his staff into the creature's mouth, ensuring that it could not close its mouth and became wild with anger and pain, unable to think clearly. The panther snarled and thrashed wildly, knocking itself against the walls. Eventually it soon became worn down and just flopped over onto the ground where it was. Leaving Rose to take care of the beast, he turned, seeing the other two cats moving towards Trish and Dante, both of whom were unconscious, though Dante was beginning to show signs of revival.

Reiko's eyes narrowed before he strode forward confidently, hissing softly at the cats, in the ancient language of vampires. The cats snarled before turning away from their own prey and glaring at him. Rose frowned.

'What did you say to them?' Reiko grinned.

'You really don't want to know.'

'Trust me, I do.'

'I uh...got their attention by insulting their mothers. What else?' Rose glared at him.

'Is it really all that wise to insult dangerous demons?' Reiko blinked.

'They don't look dangerous to me.' At that point, one of them grew in size. Reiko's eyes widened and he took a step back, surprised. Rose rolled her eyes at him.

'You were saying..?' Reiko grinned sheepishly, while trying to keep his eyes on both of the demons at once.

'Well...at least...it...got their attention?' Rose shook her head before yanking out Reiko's staff and throwing to him, watching as Reiko caught it easily before smacking the demon sharply on the nose before running backwards, leading the demon away from his friends.

'Rose. Take care of the other one!' Rose nodded and flew to his aid. Reiko turned to face the other demon and narrowed his eyes but immediately yelped as Rose bowled into him. Reiko staggered forward, feeling claws rip into him immediately before crying out with raw pain and striking upwards with his staff, with all the force he could muster. The demon choked before falling backwards, choking out it's last breaths.

From somewhere behind him, he heard a croaky chuckle and turned to see Dante getting up, pulling Rose to one side before shaking his head as though to rid himself of any pain. He then sighed softly as he prepared to do battle again. This time, he was not beaten back.

Reiko watched in quiet awe as Dante moved like liquid, first in one place, than another. The demon was dead before Reiko was even aware of the blood that drenched them both, in Dante's case, the demons' and in his case, his own. Dante looked around, his job finished before he began to climb the stairs again. Reiko followed his actions before he frowned.

'Don't tell me you're going to go back upstairs to sulk and mope ad waste your life away,' he said sharply, his hazel eyes blazing with anger. He had one hand on Trish's forehead, siphoning her thoughts into his own mind before replacing them. 'You told Trish that a boy died. That was not your fault. That was the dragon's. And if you think staying in your room until this all passes will help, then I'm afraid that you are sadly mistaken. The dragon will remain and the dragon will kill off more innocent people, many of them children.'

'Shut up, Reiko. You don't know.'

'I don't suppose I do, do I? After all, I didn't lose very much when I was a kid. I just had a tyrant kill off my parents for pure fun, that's all! I don't think that dragon's hungry, Dante. I think it's being controlled.' Dante glared at him angrily, causing Reiko to nearly hesitate. The vampire decided to press on, while he had him listening.

'Dante, son of the legendary Dark Knight Sparda, also known as The Legendary Dante. Legend my foot! You don't deserve the title! Look at you, you coward! Why, if I were an enemy of yours I wouldn't stand still and shiver seeing you lying on your bed like a heartbroken teenager. I would laugh! I would laugh and take over this world and kill all these innocent people and plunder the world. Men, women, children, they would all bow down at my feet and beg for my mercy, but I would not show them any.'

'SHUT UP!'

'No Dante! For I'm not your enemy! But there are so many out there who are! And that's precisely what they will do, Dante! _They_ will plunder the world! _They_ will kill the men, the women, the children. Probably even a defenseless _puppy_ or something!'

'You're speaking nonsense.'

'Nonsense?' Reiko laughed wildly at that point. 'Nonsense?! Look in the mirror and then you will see the nonsense of which you speak! A legend sitting around like a weakling! You had a hard time fighting six demons today, Dante. Normally this wouldn't have even caused you to start panting or tire!'

'These demons were stronger than any I have faced.'

'And if you do not get up and fight, then they will become even stronger.'

'I'm not a dragon hunter, Reiko. I fight demons.'

'Well you're going to have to fight this dragon in order to fight these demons. You, Trish and I and the rest of my vampires, or those vampires who wish to join me cannot do this alone. It's this dragon that's been preying on the harpies. I've been asked to form an alliance. I need them to fight with me. I need this alliance! You're going to help me kill this dragon, Dante, or I am going to withdraw what forces I have from this fight.'

'You wouldn't dare.'

'Just watch me.'

'I'd kill you.'

'I sincerely doubt that. Fight with me, or watch the world be raped by these demons.' It was an awful picture that Dante couldn't face.

'Fine...' he said numbly. 'I'll fight. I'll be damned if I'm going to let the world be overrun with demons. But Reiko, if you decide not to fight after this dragon dies, I'll send you to Hell.' This only earned him a smile.

'Sounds like quite the resort.'


	15. Chapter 15

_Just a few notes here and there. First of all, sorry this took so long. I haven't been well recently and I just couldn't bring myself to write very much. Also, another thing. At the last sentence, I left it like that DELIBERATELY. _

_Just so you know. _

_Please read and review, but most of all, ENJOY._

_Much thanks._

**Chapter 15**

Reiko soon found himself kicked out of the agency with a headache. He grumbled softly to himself before he dusted off his clothes and began to walk back to his mansion, not having bothered to take his car when he had left before. It was only at that moment that he was aware of the burning pain in his body, where the demons had attacked him, and had hit home. He looked down at himself and frowned at the blood that decorated his body like morbid ribbons.

He looked around before taking off down an alleyway, hopping up onto the wall at the end, and levering himself up onto a roof and running soundlessly along the slate tiles towards his own mansion. If people were looking for him, he was sure they wouldn't think to look on the roof. He paused again, his eyes narrowed as he scanned the skies. Satisfied that he could find no harpies, he continued running until he found himself a safe distance away from his mansion. He quickly raised his head, searching the night sky before he bounded to the ground, landing neatly on his feet and made his way to the front door of his mansion.

At that point, he suddenly felt pain shoot through his chest again. He gingerly looked down and sighed seeing that he had ripped up yet another expensive shirt, as well as having several angry-looking claw marks decorating his chest. He pushed open the door with no further delay, worried that perhaps any stray harpies would be able to smell his blood if he stayed on the street any longer. He took in a deep breath before letting it all out in a relieved sigh as he took in the familiar sight of his home.

Yet...something was different. He frowned as he looked around before he came to a realization. The cobwebs were gone, the carpets were polished, not that they had needed it, and the mirrors had been polished. He walked into the kitchen. The unused work surfaces had had their layers of dust removed so then everything gleamed.

'Do you like it?' Reiko blinked and then turned around before clapping his hands to his ears as Lorelei promptly shrieked. 'Oh my God! You're _bleeding_!' Reiko simply shrugged, ignoring the pain in his ears and in his chest.

'It is nothing to scream at. It happens more often than not.'

'You should get that cleaned.'

'It will heal by itself, eventually.'

'That's no excuse to drip blood all over the house!' Reiko frowned before looking down. The floor was still spotless. He looked up.

'I am _not_ dripping blood!' he snapped indignantly. Lorelei folded her arms.

'It's still not exactly a pleasing sight.'

'I thought nothing in this house was a pleasing sight. I thought you wanted to go home.'

'Actually, I quite like it here, thank you very much. Now are you going to let me bandage that or not?' Reiko sighed and submitted to being dragged to a bathroom. He watched with no apparent concern as Lorelei opened up a first aid kit and gleefully took off the ripped remains of his shirt before she unwound a bandage. Reiko was suddenly struck by an unsettling thought -that Lorelei was going to bandage him to the extent that he was going to look like a Mummy.

She hummed softly as she began "treating" him and cleaning out the wound with a damp cloth and antiseptic. If Reiko felt the sting, he didn't show it and simply chose to sit there, statuesque. Lorelei looked up at his face quickly, saw the blank stare she was getting and then blushed before getting back to work. Eventually, she moved away from him and smiled.

'How does that feel?' Reiko looked down at the soft white bandage that was covering half of his chest. He was forced to agree that it did feel more comfortable now that he knew that he had something that would stem the flow of his blood. He smiled his silent thanks at Lorelei, who simply grinned back as though she'd won the lottery.

He got up at that point and walked towards his bedroom, but as he turned around to shut the door, he was shocked to see Lorelei standing right in front of him.

'Yes?' he asked politely. Lorelei smiled somewhat shyly at him.

'Considering I'm staying here with you, how about we have a conversation? A nice conversation? About you and I? I mean...like...we can swap stories and stuff. Tell ghost stories? Jokes? Insult each other? Anything?' Reiko blinked in confusion.

'You're lonely? I do have a phone. You can call whom ever you wish.' Lorelei shook her head.

'I can't do that. The call might get traced and then we'll be found out.'

'_You'll_ be found out, you mean.'

'No. I mean _we_. If they find me here, who are they going to accuse of kidnapping me? The chandelier?' Reiko sighed.

'I am sorry.'

'But I _am_ lonely...what do you want to talk about?' Lorelei watched as Reiko slowly lay down on his bed at that point and sighed before rolling over onto his stomach, his back looking somewhat raw again. Lorelei frowned. 'Your back still isn't better?'

'No...but it's getting there. I shouldn't really have fought today but...' He smiled at that point. 'What are friends for, right?' Lorelei nodded her agreement before she was struck with a sudden thought.

'Hey...Reiko's a Japanese name, right?' The vampire nodded. Lorelei moved towards him and started massaging his shoulders, causing him to stiffen somewhat before relaxing, his lips curving upwards into a content smile.

'Yes...' he said softly, 'yes, it is. My father decided on the name.' Lorelei moved her hands towards the center of his back, and Reiko closed his eyes, lost somewhere in bliss. 'Lorelei...your mother is British, right?' She paused from her massaging and then nodded.

'Yes. I was born in America though. My big sister was born in England but my family moved to America when she was two. When I was five, my father left for some reason I was never told.' Reiko sighed softly at this point, as though able to identify.

'I'm sorry.'

'No, don't be. It's no big deal. I was too little to remember him much and he never really spent too much time with me. Since I was born, my parents had fought a lot with each other so when he left, I think I was glad. I know that I never actually missed him. It was a lot quieter around the house without him around, and it was just us three. My mother, my sister and I. But after my father left, my sister and mother started to treat me differently.

'We'd go from school to school but somehow, I'd always do something odd and we'd have to move and go somewhere else.' She paused at this point, as though trying to gather her thoughts. 'I was never allowed to go out of the house by myself. My sister would walk me to my school, before running all the rest of the way to her school. She was always five minutes late...it was "too dangerous" for me to be anywhere if I didn't have any company with me, apparently. I think they were scared that something might happen to me or that I might do something to someone else. I don't know...they never gave me any answers. Even now, I'm twenty years old, and they still treat me like a child.' Reiko stirred slightly and wriggled around so he was curled up around a pillow, like some kind of overgrown kitten. He watched Lorelei through lidded eyes and yawned, nuzzling slightly into his pillow. Even as she watched him, she felt tempted to reach out and stroke her hands through his hair, as though expecting him to start purring like a real feline. All he needed was a tail and a pair of cat ears. She tried to hide a smile from her face but it quickly vanished seeing Reiko's serious expression.

'Strange things...' he repeated. 'What kind of strange things?' Lorelei frowned slightly before looking away. Reiko however, watched her intently, expectantly only to frown ever so slightly as Lorelei lowered her eyes. 'It's okay...you don't have to tell me.'

'No...it's...silly, really. There was this one time, at a school that I went to, when we were allowed to bring in a pet. Kind of like a show and tell. Anyway, I didn't bring in anything, but one of the most popular girls in my school brought in her pet hamster. Anyway, something came to me and I told her that she should be really careful and take really good care of it. She got upset; she thought I was implying that she didn't know how to take care of her pet. So, I had to tell her that she was getting the wrong end of the stick, and that it was going to die.

'I was accused of being jealous of her, and the hamster died two days afterwards. Apparently, the neighborhood cat got it. But I was naturally blamed that I had snuck into her house at night over the weekend and had let the hamster out of its cage, despite me living on the other side of town. Everyone thought I was a witch and I was bullied because of it. It eventually got so bad that we had to move. But something would happen wherever we went, and we were constantly abused. We had bricks thrown at our house, and stuff put through the letter box.' Reiko bit his lip at that point and looked somewhat sheepish, but for a reason that Lorelei didn't understand.

'Things didn't get much better once we moved back over here. Mom missed her country, and my sister wanted to come to England. The schools were just the same as they were in America. If anything went wrong in the classroom, it would be me who got the blame.' She shrugged at that point. 'Well that's about it for me. How about you?' She smiled at him brightly, before seeing the downcast look on his face. She looked away again and Reiko lowered his head onto his pillow, half closing his eyes, sighing deeply. 'I'm sorry...that was insensitive of me.' Reiko was silent for a while before he raised his head and shook it.

'No...it's okay. I shall tell you. It's only right.'

'I think I know a little of it...they had a crash.' Lorelei's eyes met with his. Reiko quickly lowered them and looked away, lowering his head back down on his pillow, half closing his eyes.

'Mm...' he murmured.

'Reiko?' Lorelei persisted even then.

'Mm...?'

'What does...eeay, onegayee mean?' Lorelei asked, stumbling through the words. Reiko blinked and sat up, frowning at her.

'_Iie? Onegai?_' A look of understanding passed over his face and he lowered his head. 'It means... "No...please."'

'Oh...what does-'

'_Kaa-sama _and _Oto-sama_ means "Mother and Father" respectively.' He frowned and looked at her. 'How did you know?'

'I had a vision.'

'Ah...I see...'

'I'm sorry for your loss,' she said contritely.

'No sorrier than me.' He shook his head suddenly. 'I am sorry. I should really just get on with this, shouldn't I? I just...don't know where to start.' He turned his head towards his bedside table, his eyes locking onto something or another. Lorelei followed his gaze and then saw the photo frame. A sudden idea entered her head and she pounced on it gleefully, though her outside appearance was serious and concerned. But before she could put it into effect, he began to speak.

'I wish they were still here, but sometimes, all things considered, I think it is for the best that they are gone. They didn't live to suffer the shame of their son becoming a vampire. I doubt they would be too happy having a vampire as a son.'

'I think you're more human than those who actually are,' she said without thinking. Reiko blinked and looked towards her, dazed, as though he had just been paid the biggest compliment of his life. Lorelei decided that _now_ was the time to push forward and out her plan in action.

'Were they nice?' She looked at him hopefully, wondering whether this was the key question that would cause him to retell his past. Reiko was quiet for a while before he smiled.

'Yes...from what I saw of them. I was five when they died. At that age, parents usually are anxious to ensure that their children see no sadness or negative emotion. They were always nice whenever I was around. I remember that I was very happy back then.

'My mother's name was Adele. She was always smiling, and always made sure that I never felt as though I needed anything. I can't recall ever asking my mother for a toy or a game...or telling her that all the other kids in my class had such-and-such a toy or whatever...For me, just knowing that my parents loved me, and doted on me was enough.

'My father, Saniiro, had been born in Japan, but had been brought up in England. He taught me what little Japanese I know, and he too always seemed to laugh and smile.' At that point, a shadow crossed over his face. 'Well...actually...that's a lie. I know that we were quite short of money; we weren't the wealthiest people around. Even so, I never was refused anything, and I never felt in need of anything save food. We never could afford to eat very much, and I never had much, just the odd toy car or a football –they were quite cheap- but somehow or another, we were able to make ends meet.

'Apparently, we were also able to save enough money on the side as well. One day, my father came home and picked me up and swung me around and around. I remember that when he put me down, I felt dizzy, but we were laughing, all three of us. They kept mentioning the word "holiday"...I remember wondering what one of them was...but because my parents were laughing so much, and looked so happy, I wasn't worried. My father was excited, and as a result, so was I. Ironic, no?' He paused at this point, and Lorelei sighed, feeling her heart move out towards him. She felt like hugging him tightly, seeing that this remembrance was obviously painful, but somehow, she didn't think that the vampire would be thrilled at the prospect of being held in her arms. Reiko cleared his throat before looking down at his hands, roughened from battle.

'After the crash,' he began again, his voice quiet, sad. 'After the crash, I was taken to an orphanage. I never actually felt as though I could settle there though...despite the fact that I was there for about two or three years. I guess I was lucky, some kids had been there all their lives. I didn't have anyone to go to. My father's father probably would have let me stay with him, but he had moved to Japan recently after the death of his wife and had died peacefully in Japan two months before the accident. My mother's parents wanted nothing to do with us, for reasons I still don't know. Both my parents had had no siblings and the authorities could find no other relatives of mine so I had to stay there...' He paused again, made as if to start speaking again before he fell completely silent. Lorelei leaned forward, eager, almost desperate to hear more. Reiko fidgeted slightly before he looked towards her, seeing her eyes fixed on him. He cleared his throat before he began again.

'They had...told me that...one day I'd...meet them again.' He said, his voice shaking ever so slightly. Lorelei put a hand over his, trying to comfort him, feeling guilty that she had pushed him into telling her everything. Reiko cleared his throat again, shook his head and closed his eyes, as though he were about to jump off a bridge.

'I didn't realize what they really meant; that I'd see them again when I die. As a result, I lived in fear thinking that I'd be taken away before my parents could come and collect me. I was adopted four times in total but the first three times I was taken back. Things never really worked out. Either I'd kick and scream and struggle like a kid possessed. I'd refuse to have anything to do with them. Once, it wasn't anything to do with me at all; they simply abused me. When the social worker came around to check up on us, and I accidentally dropped a mug and the man hit me, well, it was game over for that attempt.

'When I was adopted for the fourth time though, the couple refused to give up on me, and tried ever so hard. Even though at first I hated them with a passion, I eventually grew to like them. I owe them a lot.' Lorelei realized only then that she was still holding his hand.

'What were they like?'

'My adoptive father is called Sean and my adoptive mother is called Vera. They were wonderful towards me, and Vera in particular spent a lot of time with me. She soon became my best friend and I began to open up to her more and more. I think I was about ten when I told her why I had been so scared. She was the one who told me the truth, even though I'd already heard it by this time after I'd caught pneumonia from standing outside waiting gor my parents to come back. Part of me refused to believe them then, and when Vera tried to tell me again, I still refused.And when I kicked her, refusing to believe, she didn't get upset. She stayed by me even then. It was later on that year when I first called her "Mother". I could never bring myself to call her Mum...just Mother. My real Mum was in heaven somewhere, and even though I could call Vera Mother, she wouldn't take her place.

'You'd think I'd be happy living in such a caring environment right? Well, I was happy, but not when my adoptive cousin visited. I was Vera's only "child" and she somehow got the idea that me and her sister's son, in short, my adoptive cousin would become good friends. This may have been true, had he not uh..._hated_ my guts.

'I guess it was jealousy that made him hate me like that. It's kind of ironic, considering I was always slightly jealous that he had _real_ parents, you know?' Lorelei nodded at that point. Reiko's expression grew more thoughtful as he continued. 'We fought a lot, me and him. His mother, my aunt, she gave me a lot of attention, you know...hugs and gifts. I knew it was only because of the fact that I had lost my real parents. Anyway, my cousin didn't really understand why they were being so nice to me, and pampering me, so a rivalry began to grow. I had the misfortune of only knowing about it when I was about seventeen or so.

'As we grew older, the rivalry grew with us. It was little things at first; he'd take away a few of my things, and mislay them so I couldn't find them again. Soon it got onto bigger things.'

'Like what?' Lorelei asked, hearing Reiko's voice peter out. Reiko looked towards her, and for the first time, Lorelei was aware of something akin to pain in his eyes.

'Like crimes,' he said bluntly. Lorelei frowned, not sure whether she had understood. Reiko nodded again, his pain suddenly vanishing to be replaced by a look of resignation as he realized he would have to explain. 'He did stuff, and I got blamed. Simple.' He lowered his head, as though ashamed. Lorelei looked at him aghast.

'That's awful! Jeez...you really don't catch a break, do you?' Reiko remained silent but looked up at her. 'So uh...what happened?' Reiko shook his head. Lorelei's face fell. 'I'm sorry. Am I being insensitive again?'

'No no...well...maybe just a little,' he admitted. Lorelei smiled somewhat sheepishly at him.

'I'm sorry.'

'Don't be.'

'Are you mad?'

'No.'

'Good.' There was an uncomfortable silence between the two. Reiko decided to lie down again, curling up against his pillow with a sigh. Lorelei fidgeted for a while before she sighed also. Reiko looked up at her quickly.

'Is something wrong?'

'No, why?'

'You sighed.'

'I'm just thinking about your cousin. He was a total-'

'Yeah...I know. You know, we don't talk much anymore. Things kind of came to a head one day when he finally went too far in lying to me and saying some random crap about my parents being scum and abandoning me because I was unwanted. Obviously, we fought. I got my face kicked in but hey, I still tried to protect my parents' honor, and that was all that mattered to me at the time.' Reiko stretched before hugging the pillow to him a little tighter, as though for comfort. 'There's not much for me to tell you. I grew, I died, and here I am.' Lorelei raised her eyebrows before shaking her head.

'Wow...' she murmured to herself. 'Wow.' Her eyes drifted over the rich furnishings of the room, and she remembered the things she had seen while she had explored most of the house. Granted, she hadn't been able to see _everything, _but she had seen enough to know that the vampire was incredibly wealthy. 'How did you ever afford this place? It's _huge_!'

'My father, well, my _adoptive_ father owns a prestigious computer business. He made me a partner.'

'Do you keep in touch with your adoptive parents?'

'...over the phone, yes...' Reiko seemed to approach the subject with a certain amount of trepidation. Lorelei frowned, before continuing slowly.

'And...have they ever...visited you?' Reiko turned a delicate shade of pink. Lorelei realized that he was blushing, something she had never heard a vampire doing.

'...no...' he whispered miserably. Lorelei frowned.

'Did you ever..._invite_ them?' She watched him steadily, and Reiko seemed to shrink into himself, before shaking his head mournfully.

'It's pathetic...I know...but...I'm a...a _monster_! They wouldn't be able to accept me if they saw me!' He looked absolutely wretched and Lorelei sighed before nudging him into a sitting position and hugging him comfortingly.

'You lost one set of parents...don't distance yourself from the second set. They obviously loved you.'

'Yeah but I was _human_ back then...' he returned hopelessly. He blinked as he suddenly realized that Lorelei was actually _hugging _him. He swallowed hard before nervously returning the hug loosely, but then tightened his grip.

'Oh Reiko...you worry too much...'

'Old habits die hard...I guess...' He tightened his grip on her a little more before resting his head on her shoulder warily, still unable to believe that he, a vampire, was being showered with affection by a girl who had hated him. He had never hated her, never. Sure, he'd been upset and irritated at times, especially when he was accused of being all manner of things, but he never had actually hated her. Somewhere in the space of time they had shared together, the tables had turned, and Lorelei had grown to accept him. It filled him with warmth he had only been able to feel when he was a boy, and playing in a garden, under the heat of the sun.

Even when Lorelei had hated him, and had been cold towards him, he had tried to befriend her. Why? He figured that it was probably because she intrigued him. It couldn't possibly be anything to do with her looks, or the fact that she was playing hard to get. Okay, maybe it was, but nevertheless, the fact that he'd actually succeeded in turning Lorelei into a friend filled him with a strange sense of satisfaction. He closed his eyes and sighed contently, unaware of the fact that for the first time he was smiling, not because it was tinged with irony, or an intimidating smirk, but because of the simple fact that he no longer felt alone.


	16. Chapter 16

_It's about time I got this chapter done. I know it's been a while, and I know that people seem to be losing interest in the Devil May Cry section, but hey, for those of you who are still out there reading this, then enjoy the latest chapter. It took me a while to write it because of coursework and homework and the like but…at least it's finally here now._

_Another thing I should have done._

_Disclaimer: Dante and Trish belong to Capcom. _

_Claimer: Any of the names you don't hear in Devil May Cry 1 or 2 belong to me. That's right. Reiko, Remy, Lorelei, Rose, Cathy, Ms. Avalon, even the dragon belongs to me. And so do the others…when I remember what other OCs I put in here. Gwah!_

_Anyway, Happy New Year to you all!_

_As always, please review, because what else do I have to keep me going? (smiles) There's still quite a bit to this. So far this fic has totaled 80 pages and I don't think that's going to end any time soon so…you're in for a long story. (HAPPY GRIN)_

**Chapter 16**

Love. It always seemed to get in the way at the best of times. Whether it was Dante's love for battle, Trish's love for cooking and then more often than not causing disasters, it always seemed to cause trouble. Rose was the most perturbed though, by the fact that she couldn't seem to shake her thoughts away from Reiko. They had only met a few times, but each of those times had been a memorable experience, and she found herself reliving them in her head with great relish, and wanting to experience more meetings with the vampire. She couldn't quite pinpoint what it was she liked about him, and she couldn't quite bring herself to admit that she was in love. After all, the word was probably too strong for what she was feeling. This was more like…like…_infatuation_. She wrinkled her nose at that. Maybe infatuation was the wrong word too. If not love, and not infatuation, then it had to be a…a crush.

She growled mentally at the offensive word. A crush, such a terribly juvenile way to describe what she was feeling, but she wryly noted that perhaps it was the most accurate description. The vampire seemed to haunt every one of her dreams and she would find herself day dreaming and imagining him laughing, smiling, moping, anything really, and then later grew frustrated when she realized she could no longer keep her thoughts clear.

So when Dante had sent her to find Reiko, to ask him if he had any inkling on how to destroy a dragon, her stomach had churned, her heart had leapt and she had immediately found that a grin had plastered itself on her face and wouldn't go away. Though, admittedly, it was an odd request…why Dante thought that _Reiko_ would have anything to help them was a mystery, especially since Reiko was a vamp and she'd always been taught that vampires weren't the brightest of creatures.

Speaking of Dante…ever since the fight with those cats –she had no better way to describe them- a strange light had entered his eyes. Trish treated this as cause for celebration, but Rose, having never seen Dante in his usual frame of mind wasn't so sure she could share the same sentiments as the black clad demoness.

His eyes had put the cold of the frost to shame. Pure determination fuelled him, as well as a raw hatred and a lust for revenge. His eyes had seemed to blaze ice blue whenever the word dragon dared to mentioned in his presence.

Yet, for all of his determination, they had no idea on how they could possibly defeat it. As a last desperate attempt she had been told to call on her vampire. _Her _vampire? Euw…However, finding a vampire was difficult and trying to find one that wished to remain hidden was damn near impossible. Near impossible, but she had never said it _was_ impossible. There would still be hope as long as she believed.

So here she was, continuing to crunch on through the streets, realizing at that point that she was putting herself in a very dangerous situation. The frost did nothing to quiet her progress and she was pretty sure that any vampire in the area would know that there was a harpy on the loose, alone and unprotected. She prayed that they would mistake her for an ordinary human being and pass her by without paying her any heed.

But then again, if she was thought of as being human, then the vampires wouldn't pass up the chance of gaining a meal. She groaned at that. It seemed that no matter which race the vampires took her for, she would still be in grave danger.

Rose knew that she was more than capable of taking out a vampire but they were beginning to grow numerous as the harpy population died out and the dragon continued to live and prey on her race. If she attacked one vampire, even in the name of self-defense, there was a likely chance that another seven would arrive in order to protect their fellow vampire. Harpies were perhaps as strong as a vampire with the ability to possess a weaker vampire's mind and poison them in the process but if there was a fight between one harpy and eight younger vampires, even if they were inexperienced, there would be no question as to who would win. Sheer weight of numbers would pull her down to her death.

At that point, she slipped and squeaked as she felt herself lose her balance and fall. Instead of hitting solid concrete as she had expected, she suddenly felt herself being pulled upright, lifted clear off the ground and set down on her feet. A pair of hazel eyes loomed in front of her.

'Are you all right?' How convenient. The vampire stood before her, dressed in all black as was his trademark. She blinked suddenly, feeling his power crawling along her skin, making the hair at the back of her neck stand on end. The power seemed to move of its own will, and seemed to shimmer in front of her, so tangible that she felt as though she could touch it. Reiko seemed to be unaware of the fact that she could sense the raw power that he held. She suddenly realized that she had been staring at the vampire for perhaps a little too long. Reiko didn't seem to notice.

'Are you all right?' He repeated again. She felt a blush slowly creep across her face but she refused to acknowledge it and turned her dazed look into a glare.

'I'm perfectly fine, thank you,' she said primly. Reiko's lips curled up ever so slightly at the corners of his mouth. Rose sighed at that point. 'It's a good job that I found you though. Dante sent me to look for you.' Reiko raised a dark brow.

'Dante? What does he want? To issue me with another death threat?' He queried blandly. Rose couldn't help but smile at his sardonic tone.

'Nothing quite as serious as that.'

'I don't consider it serious at all really,' came the impassive reply.

'I thought you would have!' Rose stared at him in shock but Reiko only let a bitter smirk touch lightly upon his features.

'No,' he said softly, shaking his head.

'Jeez…Sparda must really be losing his touch!'

'Or maybe I'm past caring.' He stood there before her, hazel eyes glittering in the darkness, his coat sweeping the back of his legs as the wind carried it. He stiffened slightly and turned his head, but to Rose's eyes the simple movement had the same grace as a deer. Or maybe it was just her eyes. She rubbed at them, trying not to appear inconspicuous and then looked back towards the vampire. Her eyes must have been playing tricks on her, for he was watching her interestedly, and the former grace was gone. He looked utterly human, his face bland and devoid of emotion. No…she was wrong. That kind of stillness was anything _but_ human.

'He's really upset…there's this strange look in his eyes,' she murmured.

'He's just pissed off and lashing out. Besides, I did call him a coward, and if there's one thing Dante hates, it's being accused of being scared. He considers it a weakness.'

'And what do _you_ consider it?' She asked, momentarily forgetting the true purpose of her search for Reiko. The vampire searched her face impassively before answering.

'I consider fear to be natural and human. It is nothing to be ashamed of,' he said simply. 'Fear is a very human emotion. Perhaps the most.'

Rose blinked before smiling. 'I think I prefer your take on things. They make more sense.'

'You have your opinion. I have my opinion, as Dante also has his own opinion. There is no wrong, and there is no right.' He turned away at this point but then stopped. 'By the way, had you carried on the way you were doing so, you would never have "found" me.' A wry smile passed over his face as he finished. Rose frowned at him, trying to hide her surprise.

'What do you mean by that?'

'I was following you all this time.'

'What? You were _stalking_ me!' She cried out in shock, staring at him. In response, Reiko sighed and rolled his eyes before fixing her with a look of long-suffering.

'I was _not _stalking you, Rose. This is vampire territory, and your progress was incredibly disrupting. You were alerting every vampire in the vicinity to your presence! I was following you, so then if any vampires attacked you, I would have been able to step in and make them stop before you came to any harm.'

'Wouldn't it have made more sense if you just _walked_ alongside me?' She asked icily.

'You'd think that, but no. I can't seem too friendly towards harpies, otherwise I'll probably end up having to put down a rebellion,' he explained, sighing as he did so. Rose nodded slowly.

'They think you've just been appointed as a delegate?'

'Yes. My clan doesn't know that I genuinely want peace.'

'Are you _ever_ going to tell them?' she asked. Reiko simply shrugged and started to walk off before coming to a halt, frowning and turning to her slowly.

'You said Dante wants to see me?'

'Huh?' asked Rose, raising her eyebrow.

'Dante. You said he wanted to see me.'

'Oh…oh yeah…I remember…Um…' Reiko quirked an eyebrow and frowned softly but still managed to keep a polite tone to his voice.

'You remember, huh?'

'Okay, so maybe I didn't remember as much as I thought.' Reiko's frown deepened at that but then Rose snapped her fingers, her eyes brightening. 'Dante wanted to know whether you had a book that might be able to help us!'

'A book? What kind of book?'

'You know…one of those things with words in them that you open up and read?' Rose rolled her eyes at him, which only earned her a sharp growl and a glare in return.

'A book _pertaining _to what?'

'Dragon killing,' she said simply. Reiko frowned before turning away, setting off towards his home, leaving Rose to stare after him, confused. Reiko paused and then looked over his shoulder at her.

'Are you coming then?'

Rose stared around in wonder as Reiko opened the front door and stepped in before turning to the left and going through a door. When he realized Rose was still staring at the chandelier, he sighed.

'This way.'

'Oh!' Her eyes widened slightly before she dashed off to stand at his side, where Reiko was already scanning the bookshelves, his eyes narrowed in concentration, his pupils seeming to dance as his vision flickered here and there, quickly reading the book titles that were printed on the spine of each volume. Rose bounced up and down on the balls of her feet, too energized and having nowhere to get rid of it.

'Found anything?'

'No…not yet…but I'm sure that…yes…' He smiled suddenly as he pulled out a relatively thin book, it's cover looking as though it had never been opened and read. The book was a paperback, a stark contrast to the thick hardback books she had seen in Dante's office. The cover was a strange murky green colour, what an embellished picture of what looked to be a werewolf. The title was in red. Rose read it to herself and smiled.

'"The Little Known Facts Behind Myths"? You really think this will help us?' Reiko shrugged.

'Laugh if you wish. You asked me for my help and I merely gave it,' he said icily, though his face looked as though it were carved of ivory, emotionless, dead. It was a chilling sight to behold, but it still held Rose fascinated nonetheless. She suddenly realized he was talking. 'This may be a children's book, but sometimes simple facts are all that we must know.' Rose swallowed hard and then nodded in agreement.

'Okay…sorry…' she whispered. Reiko said nothing but remained standing there, the book in his hand, as though expecting her to say something more. She couldn't bring herself to open her mouth when fixed under his piercing stare. At last, after a period in which Rose could almost taste the tension in the air, Reiko sighed and relaxed before looking somewhat uncomfortable. He passed the book to her and then looked outside.

'It is cold out there. You were outside for a while when trying to find me. The air is icy, and you won't be able to fly because the cold will hurt your feathers.' He coughed slightly, uncomfortably, as though his next words were to suggest something profane. 'Would you like some coffee?'

'Thanks. That would be great,' she smiled at him. 'Coffee sounds great now that you've reminded me how cold it is out there.' Reiko graced her by smiling before he walked noiselessly towards the kitchen, Rose at his heels.

Lorelei was sitting there already, curled up quite comfortably in a chair with several cushions she had dragged over from the living room, reading and sipping quite happily at some hot chocolate. She looked up as the two came in and frowned slightly seeing Rose.

'Hello…' She sounded surprised, as well as somewhat peeved. Rose flinched mentally at the tone of her voice. She smiled warily at Lorelei before glancing at Reiko anxiously. He looked up at them both from filling the kettle with water and blinked seeing the two watching him. He glanced from one to the other before putting two and two together.

'Oh sorry. Lore, this is Rose, a harpy friend. She asked for my help on behalf of Dante. Rose, this is Lorelei. I'm acting as her protector. She was the first one who saw the dragon and she got caught up in the crossfire of one of the dragon's attacks.' He went back to his coffee making. Rose gave Lorelei an uneasy glance, and found to her astonishment that the look was being mirrored.

'Two sugars?' Reiko's smooth voice cut into her thoughts.

'Uh…yes please…thanks,' she replied somewhat shakily. The tense atmosphere seemed to be lost upon the normally sensitive vampire.

'Milk?'

'Just a little.' Rose tried to return to her thoughts but blinked and gasped with shock as she suddenly saw a mug of steaming hot coffee appear out of nowhere and hover close to her nose. She took the mug from Reiko and smiled her thanks at him before sitting down opposite Lorelei, watching her balefully as she took a sip of her coffee. Lorelei narrowed her eyes slightly before getting up.

'I'm going to bed. Goodnight, Reiko.' She watched him as she passed. Reiko nodded politely in acknowledgment.

'Goodnight, Lore.' She threw him a smile, but stared at Rose almost warningly before she took her leave. Rose's coffee, which had seemed so pleasant before now seemed to turn suddenly bitter. She sighed and pushed the mug away.

'Thank you, Reiko. I'd better go and give Dante the book.' Reiko nodded again but then frowned at the virtually untouched mug of coffee. He picked up the mug.

'Hey Rose, you haven't even-' he turned and blinked seeing that the harpy was gone. '-finished your coffee…' He sighed before he shook his head and started to wash up. 'Women…'


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

The darkness blanketed the city, yet the city itself was still full of life. Men laughed as they drank in pubs. Club music blasted out of speakers in full volume, and the high rising giggles of women as they danced could be heard easily. Cars roared as they sped down the roads, and the wail of police and ambulance sirens could be heard for miles. There was only one thing that could stop the life in such a town, and the darkness of the night was not one of them.

Rose sighed softly as her senses picked up on all these sights and sounds. It was amazing, sad even, that it was only when her life was in danger that she noticed all these small but essential things that made this city what it was. She stared around before sighing, slipping into the shadows, away from the lights of the cinemas, the pubs, the clubs and the restaurants. In her eyes, they all held a sense of normality that she was being denied at that very moment. She felt a sudden surge of anger. How could these people act in such a frivolous way? How could these people not know, or realize there was a dragon living in the sea near their homes? How could they not realize or notice the deaths that were taking place?

Because the harpies, the vampires, the demons…they had been in hiding for so long. They had been too scared to show their faces. They had simply lived quietly, almost in solitude. Even in death, they remained hidden. Even those who were innocent and were kind of heart were forced away by the blood that ran in their veins. Not only that, but if any of the mortals saw the dragon, or saw any winged creature apart from a bird or bat, they would blame it on the alcohol, the drugs. They would not face the reality, or they couldn't bring themselves to. But, if that was so, then how did one explain the behavior of the humans that actually _enjoyed_ a vampire's bite?

She sighed, feeling depressed, wanting to go inside, curl up around a cushion and cry as though her heart would break. It was then that she decided she had spent too much time around a certain gloomy vampire.

She looked down at the book in her hands before taking off at a run, yet again finding that she had forgotten the true purpose of her meeting with the vampire. It was in this dazed, confused state that she found herself running headfirst into a group of vampires. They looked towards her almost hungrily before one stiffened and growled softly, eyes narrowing as he glared at her balefully.

'Harpy,' he hissed. 'You are a fool for straying into our territory.' Rose swallowed hard, her eyes seeming to dance in her head as she quickly took in the numbers of the vampires. She turned in a full circle, desperately casting about for an escape route, only to find that the vampires had been quick to close around her, forming a circle, trapping her within their folds. Wherever she turned, there was a vampire waiting. A cruel smile touched the lips of the one that had spoken. 'Your kind have killed many of us. Now it is our turn to repay the debt.' He paused before he smirked, his voice low, guttural. 'Kill her!' he shouted.

'No,' someone suddenly growled. Rose turned gratefully, half expecting Reiko to be standing behind her. Instead, and much to her surprise, Reiko hadn't appeared, but it had been a wiry, lanky vampire that had spoken out. His eyes had a fierceness which seemed to be covering something much more sensitive hidden within. It was obvious that he was not a warrior, and dark drowning eyes framed by pale features and dark hair seemed to make his vulnerability all the more evident, as though a single harsh word would injure him. Rose licked at dry lips and looked from him to the other. Fragile or not, this vampire was the only one who seemed to be defending her. She instinctively moved closer to him, still clutching the book to her tightly, as though protecting a child. The first vampire looked irritated.

'No? Did I just hear you say _no_? Why ever not? This is a _harpy_ for God's sake! It has no feelings! It's scum! Lower than the _dirt_ on which we stand!' For all his weak appearance, the other vampire stood resolutely and calm, as though confident that he had some power over the rest of them.

'If you attack this harpy, you will anger our master.'

'And what makes you say that?' The first vampire hissed, amber eyes blazing. A wry smile flitted across the face of Rose's defender before it was replaced by a hard, stone glare.

'A poor member of our clan you must make, for you don't recognize your own master's scent.' Rose blushed slightly at that, some part of her still feeling guilty for associating herself with Reiko. She looked towards the vampire that stood beside her to try and gauge how he felt about the matter. The expression on his face was unreadable. Her thoughts were sliced in half when the hostile vampire began to speak.

'Are you saying that we should spare her life?'

'That's precisely what I am saying. If we attack her, all of Reiko's work will be dashed to pieces and he will never gain the alliance he has been ordered to create.'

'And if the harpy's killed him?'

'I smell no blood on her hands.'

'She's _dangerous_!'

'It would be just as dangerous to kill her. Or do you not care for Reiko's plight?'

'Kaneshiro is none of my concern,' the other hissed. Rose's vampire narrowed his eyes at that.

'Then why are you still here?' The other six vampires had moved to stand behind Rose and the vampire, murmuring nervously amongst themselves. One of them, a female, stepped forward, a scowl on her face.

'Kaneshiro told us _all_ that he was ordered to form an alliance. He also told us that if we didn't like what he was going to do, then we could leave. We were given the chance. You should have gone then!' Another vampire growled close to Rose's ear, making her flinch and huddle closer to the apparent leader. The vampire that had growled appeared not to be menacing her, but the hostile.

'How _dare_ you disobey our master!' Rose's vampire sighed softly.

'You know the price for mutiny or betrayal. We are to extend the hand of friendship towards the harpies, and instead you wish to kill them and defy your master. The penalty is death.' He spoke softly, almost regretfully. The other six vampires surged forward aggressively. The vampire gently took hold of her hand. Rose was stunned to find that when compared to other vampires, he was certainly as frail as he had first appeared.

'Come,' he said, as a loud cry rang through the air. 'Where were you going to?'

'D-d-d-' She stammered, as another piercing cry sent shivers down her spine. The vampire licked at his lips before sparing a glance over his shoulder to witness the scene of carnage. He immediately turned away and began walking, still holding Rose's hand, pulling her with him. Rose let out a whimper as she stumbled after him, holding the book close to her chest, as though it would ward off any evil that came her way.

The two continued walking in silence until the vampire cleared his throat and smiled at her. Rose blinked; she had never seen a vampire smile so sincerely. She had only seen Reiko smile, and that was usually tinged with irony or bitterness. It was almost repelling, something dark and sorrowful crawling behind his eyes, yet because of that same darkness, it made her ache to comfort him somehow, attracting her and clouding her thoughts. However, in this vampire's face, everything seemed to be laid open.

'My name is Remy. Pleased to meet you.' He shook hands with her almost enthusiastically. 'What's your name?'

'R-Rose…'

'You know Reiko?' Rose nodded in reply to his question. Remy clapped her hand in both of his own.

'How is he?' he asked fervently. Rose blinked.

'Um…he's fine..?'

'Has he said anything about me? He asked, still in that same tone. Rose shook her head.

'Not to me, no. We've only met a few times. And nearly every time we've saved each other's life. He lent me this book. I was going towards Devil May Cry…' she trailed off, seeing something familiar yet alien in the vampire's eyes. 'Thanks for helping me.'

'It was nothing,' he whispered, sounding almost crestfallen. Rose frowned slightly, praying that he wasn't going to start moping like a certain vampire she knew…gah! She shook her head slightly in frustration, trying to shake Reiko's face from her vision's eyes, trying to prevent that face from clouding her thoughts. Remy caught the movement.

'What's wrong?' he asked quickly. Rose gasped slightly with surprise. Her movement had been slight; she hadn't expected him to see.

'Oh! Uh…nothing…'

'Let me escort you to Devil May Cry. There might be other vampires around and well…after today, you can't be too sure who understands Reiko's predicament.'

'I noticed you were the only one who would call him by his first name instead of his last,' she said casually. Remy laughed at that, almost shyly.

'I'm something of a good friend of his…at least I…_hope_ I still am…'

'Why? What happened?'

'Nothing…it doesn't concern you…' a guarded, almost shamed tone crept into his voice. Rose decided at that point that it was best to let things alone.

The two eventually arrived at Devil May Cry, and the two halted at the door uncertainly. Rose turned to Remy and smiled at him in what she hoped was an endearing manner.

'Thanks again.' To her disappointment, Remy's once lively face looked towards her, his eyes haunted, watching her half-heartedly.

'It was nothing…' he sighed. Rose frowned slightly at him.

'What's wrong?' she asked, quietly. Remy looked up.

'I did something stupid some time ago,' he said softly. 'I think Reiko's scared of me, or extremely angry with me.'

'Reiko? Scared? That doesn't seem likely. He seems so fearless!'

'Then you do not know him as well as I.'

'…oh…' Rose wasn't too sure what she could say to such a statement. Instead, she looked down at the book she held in her arms, studying the murky green cover once more before she cleared her throat and timidly knocked on the door.

It swung inwards and Trish looked upon the two before smiling.

'You're back. Good. Dante's been about to rip out his hair!' she chirped. Rose's eyes widened with horror.

'Why!' she cried, fearing that Dante had finally completely lost his mind.

'Oh…he's just impatient. You know him; he always wants to keep moving, and he always wants something to-_Remy_!' Rose looked towards the vampire, noticing that he had stepped out of the shadows only at that point. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. What was it with vampires and having to have a dramatic entrance? The vampire smiled towards Trish shyly.

'How are you? The last time we met was the day of the guild massacre. We would have met had that evil tyrant not injured you. Dante told me all about it.'

'Oh…well I-'

'She recovered,' said a gruff voice. The silver-haired man seemed to glare icily at them all before his eyes fastened upon the book in Rose's hands. He immediately stepped out of the doorway, allowing the vampire and the harpy inside. Remy looked around the dwelling with interest before his eyes fastened onto the several skulls that Dante had impaled to the wall, a macabre warning to all those who dared enter.

Rose sighed softly as she went straight to her usual place on the couch, rubbing nervously at her arms as Dante took the book from her. Remy paused, giving Dante a fleeting glance over his shoulder and slunk over to sit beside Rose on the couch. Trish blinked and watched the pair. It was hard to believe that a vampire and a harpy were sitting side by side without trying to kill each other outright. Granted, she had heard that Rose and Reiko were becoming friends, but she had never seen them together in the same place. Seeing a vampire other than Reiko with a harpy sitting together on the couch filled her with a hope, that maybe Reiko could achieve what had previously been deemed as impossible; that he would form an alliance between the two races.

Dante sighed at that point as he settled himself down, opening the book and beginning to flick through the pages quietly. Three pairs of eyes turned to watch him, one pair of eyes were filled with a desperate hope, another filled with a quiet resignation, as though doubting, and the last were filled with curiosity, not really understanding, yet not wanting to be left out.

At last Dante settled upon reading a page, his brow furrowing with concentration. Remy fidgeted slightly where he sat, only too aware of the tension that hung in the air, overpowering, maddening. Trish looked towards him quickly and shook her head warningly. Almost immediately, he was uncomfortably aware of the dry sensation in his throat which was becoming increasingly irritating as the seconds ticked by. He swallowed hard, trying to rid himself of the feeling but to no avail. It left him only one more option. He cleared his throat nervously.

Three pairs of eyes automatically switched onto him. Rose giggled, it sounded high pitched and unnatural. Trish shook her head. Dante glowered at him, a growl escaping his throat.

'S-sorry…' Remy apologized. Dante turned his silver head back to the book before a thin smile tugged at his lips.

'I think we might have something here that could be of use,' he concluded. Rose gasped and jumped up from the couch, moving towards him quickly and hugging him tightly, nearly knocking him off-balance.

'Oh thank God! Thank God!' she cried. 'Does that mean you'll help us? You'll help save my kind?' Dante growled and shook her off him.

'Yes. I'll help. But I don't know whether this book is a rumour or whether it's true.'

'What does it say?'

'It describes a legend,' he said. He paced around the room before looking out of the window. Rose watched him, expecting him to say more. When it was evident that Dante would not speak, she moved towards the book and picked it up, scanning the chapter on dragons until she found the passage of which Dante had spoken.

'It says, "According to legends told and retold over the ages in many countries, dragons are immortal and cannot be killed by any means. No weapon can kill the dragon, and when the seven dragons of earth are released all shall die. All races shall be killed. Each dragon has an element. Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, Thunder, Ice and Metal. Each is filled with tremendous strength. Each dragon is designated a race to prey upon.. Demons, Angels, Harpies, Vampires, Humans, Weres will fall to each dragon's taste. Metal feeds upon all others…" ' Rose trailed off, looking up at Dante, looking scared and alarmed. Dante watched her before gesturing for her to read on. Rose licked at dry lips before turning back to the book.

' "When the dragons meet, everything shall perish and all those that live on Earth will be wiped out. It came close to happening according to Chinese myth. An old priest summoned forth an entity powerful enough to stop the dragons from wiping out the nations. He prayed every day for the Earth's salvation, and God replied in the form of a messenger, a phoenix. That phoenix alone had the power to stop the dragons. There are seven phoenixes in all, one for each dragon. The phoenix that came to the priest sang a beautiful melody, that awakened the rest of the clan and brought them to the same spot. They took off into the sky and then fought in the heavens above, where no eye could see.

' "When the danger had passed, God came down to the Priest and told him that the phoenix came to him because he was pure of heart and was noble at mind. He told the priest that if trouble should ever arise, then one with a pure heart, noble intentions should go to the mountains, any mountain and read the following words:

_Deliver us, Free us_

_We ask only for salvation._

_O warrior of heaven!_

_Warrior of flame!_

_Create for us a sanctuary from these destroyers,_

_This plague…Free us from their tyranny!_

_Lend me thy strength, Lend my thy song, thy speed, thy courage!_

_Lend my thy hope, and together, let us destroy all evil._

"This myth has never been proven, but it is one of immense popularity and is one of the oldest myths. Some people believe that it is true, and they await with trepidation for the return of the seven dragons of Chaos." ' Rose finished reading the passage and looked up. Dante massaged his temples, sighing heavily. Trish started to pace around the room.

'So what do we do?' she asked. Remy remained silent, and looked towards Dante. He was taken by surprise when Rose answered her swiftly.

'We go and find the phoenix. What else? It's the only chance we've found that looks somewhat promising. If this myth is true, then we could defeat the dragon!'

'And if it's a rumour?'

'Then we're in deep shit.' Rose said, with a grave finality. Dante laughed, it was a bitter sound.

'I couldn't have put it better myself. Let's think of it this way. We could stay here, do more research and find nothing else of interest. By the time we finish researching, your race will most likely be extinct. I say we take this chance. It's better than staying here and wasting time. One of us should go to the nearby mountains and try and summon forth the phoenix. The rest of us should stay here and research and try to find anything else out. Or try to find this guy.' Dante grabbed a piece of paper from the desk. It had Trish's drawing of the man who had been with the dragon on the night when Lorelei first saw it. Trish frowned slightly.

'Who should go then?'

'I think Reiko should!' Rose said enthusiastically. Dante shook his head however.

'No. It definitely can't be him.'

'Wha-why not!'

'Because he's needed here to form an alliance between your people and his. Not only that but where will he find shelter when the sun rises on the mountains?' Rose sighed softly at Dante's explanation but then nodded.

'I guess you're right. I can't go either. I need to stay here and help Reiko too. I could also scout about the place, and tell my people to keep an eye out for the dragon master. How about you, Trish?' Rose turned to the demoness but frowned when she shook her head.

'Only recently have I been pure of heart. I used to work for the dark side, remember? The phoenix would most likely want to peck out my eyes rather than help me.'

'Then that means it has to be…' Rose looked towards Dante. The Demon Hunter sighed before stepping away from the window.

'I have demon blood in me.'

'You're also half human. You've always fought against the demons, you could be accepted,' Remy spoke up at that point. 'You've saved mankind so many times. I'm sure the bird would recognize that. It takes great courage to do what you have done. What you have achieved in two years is something that people never achieve in a lifetime.' Remy quailed slightly, seeing the frown that Dante aimed at his direction. Rose however, sided with Remy.

'He _has_ got a point, you know.' Trish sighed.

'If only Ar-'

'Trish.' Dante cut in quickly before she could finish her sentence. E looked at her and shook his head once. Trish sighed before lowering her head. 'Fine. I'll go. Someone had best go and tell Reiko though. He needs to know what's going on.' Remy stood up and bowed slightly towards the Hunter.

'I'll go.'

'Fine. Trish, get me some vital stars, I might need them if I get attacked on the way to the mountain top. Rose, take care of yourself. Make sure you pass on the message about the dragon master.'

'Yessir.' Dante swept out of the room to pack some clothes. Rose took off without another word as Trish followed Dante. Remy decided that now was the time to move. As he left the agency, he felt a deep pit of worry twist his stomach. The vampire sighed before turning back to look at the agency.

'Good luck, Dante. You'll need it.'


	18. Chapter 18

_Thanks everyone for being so patient with me. I'm having exams however, and updates will be slow until the 24th June. Then I'm gonna be back with a bang, I hope. (hopes fervently) Anyway, things are finally hotting up now with this plot, and I hope everyone enjoys this chapter and lends me their strength and support. You guys have been wonderful._

_It's been a while since I've done this..._

_Disclaimer: None of the characters who have been mentioned in either Devil May Cry 1, 2 or 3 belong to me. However, everyone else does. Augren, Reiko, Remy, Lorelei, Rose etc etc etc etc Yadda yadda, blah blah. You know who I mean guys. _

_Read, review if you want to, but most of all ENJOY!_

**Chapter 18**

After Rose had left, Reiko had had no choice but to throw her coffee down the sink, knowing that Lorelei probably wouldn't want to drink it, and knowing that he really couldn't anyway, whether he had wanted to or not. He sighed softly as he put the mug back in the cupboard and then found to his consternation that his thoughts were falling onto Lorelei yet again.

It was odd, ever since they had had that heart to heart where they had exchanged their life stories, Reiko had noticed that Lorelei seemed to be getting more and more comfortable with his presence. She no longer flinched every time he entered the same room as her, and she no longer accused him of wanting to secretly kill her. In fact, for the past couple of weeks, Lorelei had been positively civil towards him, even going so far as to smile at him genuinely.

In short, Reiko didn't know what to make of the situation. He was pleased, certainly, but he was terrified of doing something wrong that might reverse the situation and send Lorelei into feeling that she was threatened. Feeling fear usually led to abuse which usually led to hatred. And once the hatred stage was reached then there was not really much left to go before an attempt on your life ensued. Not that Reiko really thought that Lorelei was capable of murder, but one could never be too careful.

Recently, Lorelei had decided to go one step further in trying to be gracious towards him by constantly asking whether he needed anything or how he was feeling or how his back was doing. It was nice to have such attention but for one who had been on his own for so long and who had isolated himself, it was confusing as well as terrifying.

Reiko sighed as he washed the dishes and put them away. He felt his eyes constantly falling upon the blinds that were drawn over the windows. At last, he sighed and pulled up the blinds. The world outside was as dark as it had ever been for him, since he had been turned into a vampire. Even though he looked hard through the window, he could see nothing of the land outside; the lights were on and all he could see was his own reflection staring back at him bleakly, with an expression of resignation and the faded vigor of wistfulness etched upon his face.

Did he really look like that? It had felt like such a long time since he had seen his reflection; he had had no time for such frivolities. Yet seeing his reflection in the window made him stop and stare. His skin looked pale and ghostly in the window, as though he were fading away. His eyes widened slightly as he was struck by an unsettling thought. Maybe he was fading away and slowly becoming a shadow of his former self, in a time before when he was human. Since he had become a vampire, he had lost so much and had isolated himself almost entirely. Before, he had been a loner, but now he had more or less turned into a total hermit, curling in upon himself. At least when he was human, he had had some semblance of a family. Now he had also tried to distance himself from them too. Was this really the way he wanted to live his life? His pretend life? No…He wanted to feel like someone again, as though he actually existed and wasn't drifting from day to meaningless day while waiting and praying for his pretense to come to an end.

Lorelei had said that he acted more like a human than humans themselves. Was that true or was she just humoring him and flattering him? Why couldn't he just find it in himself to just trust people without thinking about whether they had some underhand motive? Why did he always have to be so cautious? He decided that he would just trust Lorelei and believe her, that yes, he was human, and he was a somebody. Reiko couldn't help but wonder to himself what it was exactly that he was afraid of.

Then Stephanie's face flashed before his eyes and he knew. He was scared that more people would be killed and hurt by his presence. Yet Lorelei knew, and she didn't stay away from him. But then again, Lorelei didn't really have much of a choice, she was here against her own will. And now, recently, she had been civil. Reiko decided to put this down to silliness. Lorelei was a bit silly sometimes, the thing about being a rapist was laughable. Stephanie had been a silly girl too…but he had liked her too. And he couldn't deny that he felt a certain something for Lorelei, a desperate urge to do what he could to please her somehow. He had never really felt that way about anyone before, not even Stephanie. All these feelings were new and alien to him, and for once in his life, he wasn't sure what it was exactly that he was meant to do.

He wished that he could talk to someone, and together he and this someone could puzzle it out and come up with some sort of solution. He suddenly realized that he was thinking of his foster mother, of Vera. What was it that Lorelei had said to him before?

'You lost one set of parents…don't distance yourself from the second set. They obviously loved you.'

Reiko found himself moving towards the phone, regardless of the time. He picked it up with a shaking hand. With trembling fingers, he dialed the first digit. And that was when the doorbell rang.

He blinked before hurriedly putting down the phone. His whole body tensed up and he automatically grabbed the first thing that came to hand, a kitchen knife. Before he was aware of what he was doing, he had crouched down into a fighter's stance. He paused, frozen in that position. The doorbell rang again, and then there was an urgent knocking. Reiko relaxed; if it was a harpy that had followed him here then it wouldn't have bothered knocking. Unless that was what his enemy wanted him to think…He growled softly to himself and crept towards the door, mindful of the window that was still uncovered. He silently placed his hand on the door handle and waited. There it was again; the doorbell followed by the knocking. He hissed softly with frustration; he had hoped that it had been one of those door to door salesmen and that he had given up and gone on his way. But this person was too insistent for that. Gritting his teeth, he flung open the door and hurled himself into the body of the one who stood outside.

Two voices mingled as one. Reiko was blinded by his fighting instinct and he could feel the other responding to his attack in a similar manner and was spurred on to greater efforts. Roaring out, adrenalin fuelling him, he punched and kicked wildly, dodging all blows that came his way. Light suddenly poured down on him. He gave a sudden cry of terror, as vampire instinct took over him, causing him to roll out of the light and flee into the shadows. He stared down at his body, but could feel no pain. He looked up cautiously and immediately felt like laughing at himself. It was electric light, false light. His high spirits suddenly plummeted. But that would mean…

Lorelei stood framed by the doorway, a silhouette against the glare of the lamplight streaming from his house. Reiko blinked and then turned to look at his foe, seeing him clearly for the first time. Remy. He looked worn out and battered but other than that he wasn't seriously hurt. Reiko quickly looked towards Lorelei and bit his lip anxiously, scared that he had frightened her. Remy slowly got to his feet, saw the anxiety on his face and knew what was going through his mind. Reiko liked her. Even though he probably wouldn't admit it to himself, it was true nonetheless. Remy swallowed the feeling of sickness that was inching its way slowly up his throat and launched himself into laughter. Reiko turned to him, looking shocked and confused, as well as guilty.

'Always the vampire master, right? Always on the alert! That's great! I've always enjoyed sparring with you; it teaches me a great deal, friend.' Remy laughed some more for added effect. Reiko stared at him, his back to Lorelei, his eyes wide, an eyebrow quirked, his mouth slightly open. He looked at him aghast, the expression far removed from his usual composed self. Remy grinned at him easily. 'Reiko, you have always taught me well when we spar like this.' He swept past him, walking towards Lorelei. She saw the gleam of his fangs and her eyes widened. However, she did not flinch or step back but resolutely held her ground. Remy took her hand and bowed courteously.

'My name is Remy. I am a friend of Reiko's. Do not be alarmed, I'm not here to hurt either of you.' Lorelei searched his eyes and frowned slightly.

'You're not hurt? You weren't trying to kill each other?'

'Not at all. My powers and fighting skills are weak when compared to other vampires. Reiko kindly consented to give me lessons.'

'Yes,' said Reiko, finally catching on and nodding in agreement. 'He has improved greatly.' He smiled at her gently. Lorelei looked from one vampire to the other and then to the knife that was still in Reiko's hand doubtfully. Then she smiled nervously, unsure of herself.

'I thought you two were trying to kill each other,' she whispered. Reiko shook his head again in reply.

'No. Not at all. We often do this sort of thing. You look tired and worn out. Are you all right?' He asked kindly. Lorelei smiled meekly.

'No…I mean yes! I'm fine! I'm just going to try and sleep.'

'It should be easier for you now that the lesson for tonight is over. I am sorry for disturbing you.' Lorelei smiled at Reiko's apologetic tone.

'Don't worry. It's fine. Goodnight Rei!'

'Goodnight, Lore. Sleep well.' He smiled as he watched her close the door behind her. He turned to Remy and looked sheepish. 'I am sorry.'

'Already having nicknames for each other, master?' Remy smiled slightly. Reiko looked towards him impassively, choosing not to answer. 'You are the master of this city; you have to be wary. I do not blame you.'

'How did you find out where I live?'

'The harpy called Rose told me.'

'Ah…'

'She got into some trouble as she was walking towards Devil May Cry. I helped her.'

'Is she hurt?'

'No.'

'That's good news…but why would my clan wish to attack her though? They know my orders.'

'She had your scent on her. They were worried you had died at her hands. We killed a traitor who was against you. There should be no further problems.' There was an awkward pause between the two vampires. Remy cleared his throat and Reiko felt dread enter his heart. 'Reiko, about that night…'

'Remy…' Reiko tried to stop him.

'No. Let me talk. I'm sorry. What I did that night was dumb. I should have known better.' He paused and cleared his throat again, fidgeting nervously. 'I'm sorry. I understand if you wish to banish me. I never ever meant to hurt you.' Reiko looked around, almost as though he was searching for some sort of escape route from the awkward situation.

'I'm not going to banish you.' Reiko looked distinctly uncomfortable. Remy could sense that Reiko didn't know what exactly it was that he was meant to do and decided to change the subject, becoming more business like.

'That's not the reason why I came here. I have important news.'

'Would you like to come inside?'

'No. I'd rather stay here. We'll run no danger of being overheard.'

'Lorelei will not be of any trouble. We have more chance of being overheard if we stay outside.'

'Good point…' Remy said softly, feeling sheepish.

'I can make you a coffee too,' Reiko said absently. Remy looked at him, thunderstruck.

'Coffee!' he said, surprised. 'Reiko! I'm a vampire!' It was Reiko's turn to look sheepish.

'Ah…yes…of course…' he looked slightly uncomfortable yet again. 'I suppose I have been hanging around with humans for much too long for my own good. Do you know, I've been feeling more and more human, as though I'm actually alive, as though I am someone.' Remy continued to watch him, a small but knowing smile on his face. 'Sorry about the remark about the coffee,' Reiko continued. 'I'm so used to making them now. Lorelei says I'm good at it, that she can't get her coffee to taste as good as mine.' Remy's smile widened slightly as he caught the obvious note of pride in Reiko's voice.

'You've changed.'

'What?' Reiko looked surprised and looked at him defensively. 'I haven't.'

'Change is not always for the worst Reiko. This is a prime example of where it is for the better.' Reiko was silent, not exactly sure what to say to this bizarre statement. 'You like her, don't you?

'Of course I do. She's very witty at times. She is becoming a good friend.'

'Maybe a little more?' Remy suggested candidly. Reiko narrowed his eyes at him, warning him not to push his luck. He gave him the merest trace of a glare before his countenance returned to normal.

'Let's just go inside.' Remy was hard-pressed to stop himself from sighing and rolling his eyes.

* * *

Lorelei sighed as she sank back onto her bed. The mattress seemed to embrace her and swallow her whole. She smiled happily as she snuggled down into the covers. If her mother and sister could see her now, living like some sort of princess they'd be so jealous! Or they'd just find some fault with it, like they always did with everything that had something to do with her. Her eyes closed happily. Reiko was absolutely amazing, always so courteous, so gentle, so polite…She sighed happily again but then her smile suddenly faded. But he was a vampire…he was a natural killer. Hadn't the incident today shown that only too clearly? But they had both said that it was a sparring match and was nothing too serious. Could she really believe him? She desperately wanted to. She wanted to trust him, she wanted him to trust her too in return.

Just as she had been becoming closer and closer to him, and had come so close to forgetting that he was not a human, she had seen him holding a knife, had watched him as he fought like an enraged beast, had heard him snarl. She was not sure what to believe, what to think, whether she could really trust him. But surely he would have hurt her in some way by now? But he was a friend of Dante, and Dante had seemed gruff but a good man, one that didn't really care for evil. What was that saying she had heard somewhere? If you want to learn about someone, then you should observe the friends he keeps. And Remy had been very polite. Lorelei felt slightly encouraged. None of Reiko's friends seemed to be evil. Trish certainly didn't seem to be, even though her attire was…unconventional…And Reiko's recent behavior towards her had given her no cause for concern.

Ever since the day when she had dressed his wounds for him, he had been a superb host, always ready to get her whatever she wanted whenever she wanted. Yet the way in which he spoke to her was as cordial as ever, as though he had reconstructed the cold shell that had been around him before, as though he was afraid to be as open as that again. Lorelei suddenly understood what it was that she really wanted from him. She wanted him to like her as much as she liked him.

As time had passed and as she continued to live with him, she had felt that she was beginning to know him more intimately than anyone else. The thought appealed to her, and made her feel honored and pleased. Not only that but as the two became more and more warm towards each other, Reiko had taken her out several times, always on the pretext that she must be getting bored, or that she could do with some fresh air, or that she would feel better about the situation if she could still interact with the outside world from time to time. He acted as her constant companion. They had seen films together, and the two would always take it in turns to choose the films. Lorelei was amused to see that Reiko had at first usually picked thought provoking films, that usually included something or another on self discovery. He was also fond of foreign films, especially Japanese films. He had told her once that it made him feel as though he was keeping in touch with his "roots". Lorelei didn't mind, she found the films quite interesting. Of course, he also liked picking action films, the sort that usually consisted of things going "boom" and general chaos. She didn't mind those either. She loved watching the reflection of the lights playing in his eyes and found herself staring for ages at his change of expression that varied from enjoyment, to excitement and then to pleasure when he correctly guessed what the ending of the film was going to be.

At first, Reiko had been extremely reluctant to see the films Lorelei picked, which were usually dippy love stories and chick flicks. But after a while he had simply adjusted and had resigned himself to his fate. He was completely docile and didn't constantly complain like so many other blokes that had been dragged to the cinema by friends, girlfriends, sisters, whatever. Occasionally, Reiko would actually grudgingly admit that he had enjoyed himself after swearing her to secrecy. For Lorelei, that was really the highlight of the night out. It was amusing really, Reiko's macho act didn't fool her one bit, she knew from experience that Reiko was really quite sensitive.

Eventually they both had decided that comedies were their favorite films. Reiko actually laughed at some of the jokes and found the escape from the harshness of his life. Lorelei loved the films because Reiko's true laugh was the most beautiful thing she had heard.

Afterwards, Reiko would usually take her to a restaurant and gently nudge her into sampling all kinds of exotic dishes. Chinese food had mainly consisted of egg fried rice and chicken chow mein before she had accidentally walked into Reiko's life. But the vampire had opened up a whole new world for her by introducing her to crispy aromatic duck, seafood and all kinds of different noodle dishes. Of course, when the seafood didn't agree with her Reiko stayed by her side all day and refused to go out that night, even when he knew that he had to attend a guild meeting. Instead, he sat on the foot of her bed, typing away at his laptop while Lorelei lay in bed reading magazines and occasionally sipping at a glass of water. There had been no real need to talk, there had been a companionable silence, and Lorelei was more than happy to bask in it. Reiko had kept her well away from seafood after that night.

Sometimes, they just walked together, their path lighted by the silvery glow of the moon. As the nights grew progressively warmer, Reiko bought a box of ice pops for her to eat as they walked. Though he never ate, he never seemed to feel as though anything was lacking; he would smile, and laugh, and talk and generally be entertaining and sweet and kind.

But by the next night after Lorelei had reawakened, he would be back to his old self; shy, reserved and somewhat cold. At first Lorelei had wondered whether she had done something wrong the previous night, or whether she had said something insulting. But then she began to grow accustomed to it, and knew that it would only be a matter of time before Reiko would start acting warm towards her again.

She yawned sleepily, her eyes closing. She gave a fleeting thought about what Reiko and his friend may be talking about, but then decided that it had very little to do with her, and that she shouldn't be worried. Reiko could take care of himself, he could take care of anything.

* * *

A few hours later, she woke up, gasping, her heart racing. She lay frozen in bed, wondering what it was exactly that had alarmed her. Her eyes darted here and there, scanning the shadows, the ceilings, the floors and the walls, but there was nothing there. She swallowed hard before relaxing. And promptly screamed as she heard a loud cry from outside.

Without pausing for thought, she ran down the stairs clad in only her nightdress, and flung the door open. The sight that met her eyes stunned her, and stopped her in her tracks.

Reiko was down on the ground, his eyes half closed, blood streaming out of his body, some flooding out of his mouth. Several people surrounded him, pinning him down tightly. He struggled briefly, trying at least to raise his head but was promptly struck heavily. He let out a soft groan before his head sank back down. Remy was cornered against the wall, his eyes wide but burning with fury.

'Is this the way you treat one of the only vampires who does not hate your kind?' he yelled. This seemed to draw forth some amusement from the others. They smiled at each other indulgently.

'You are all against us. You may look different and you may behave differently on the surface, but deep down all of you are the same. You are all bloodthirsty monsters, and you will all be killed, first starting with your leader.' The one who had spoken, beckoned another one forward with the grace and imperiousness which came with usually being obeyed. The man came forward, holding a silver-tipped staff, which flashed in the moonlight. Remy's face became stricken with fear.

'Reiko! Reiko, get up!' he cried, struggling against the ones that held him prisoner. 'Reiko!' His leader didn't seem able to obey. Blood continued to collect in a pool around his body. He gave vent to a few wet coughs, causing more blood to ooze out of his mouth but that was all. Lorelei watched with mounting dread and anger as the man walked forwards, finally stopping in front of Reiko and raising the spear over his head.

Lorelei screamed before she was galvanized into action.

'No! Stop!' She ran down and came to stand in front of Reiko, standing over him like a sentinel, throwing her arms wide. Surprisingly, the man stopped and frowned, watching her. The woman who had ordered him frowned.

'And who are you to disobey my orders? Do you not know who I am?'

'No! I don't know who you are and you know what else? I couldn't care less!' Rage made her speak without thinking, made her act without really caring. All she wanted was to see him safe and get him back inside. The people around her gasped collectively, shocked by her impudence. The man grabbed her roughly by the arm.

'You will not speak to the Queen that way!' He yelled. Lorelei twisted and squirmed in his grasp before kicking him hard below the belt. His face twisted in pain before he collapsed to his knees, eyes watering. Lorelei whirled around, glaring daggers at her. The woman mirrored her glare before suddenly laughing in her face.

'You really don't have a clue. Well…I suppose that is only to be expected considering…'

'I told you, I don't give a damn about who you are! Leave him alone!' She was breathing fast with anger, her eyes were wide with fury. The queen looked towards one of her other henchmen. He promptly spread out his wings and Lorelei found herself gasping with shock. Taken completely by surprise, she felt herself being grabbed from behind and being dragged away from Reiko. Another man came towards him, grabbing the silver-tipped spear and raised it over his head, preparing to bring the spear crashing down with all the force he could muster. Lorelei felt words ripping from her throat.

'No!' She was crying, she didn't know when she had started to cry but only now was she properly aware of it. She struggled wildly, as though she was possessed. 'No! Don't! I love him!'

Immediately, everything seemed to freeze. Remy was staring at her, looking even paler faced than usual. Something momentarily flickered in Reiko's eyes but then died out. He let out a soft groan, and tried to raise his head yet again. This time, no one stopped him. The queen's eyes bored into her, wild with rage.

'What? _WHAT_? You love this thing? How? _Why_? It's a _vampire_, a being of evil! It deserves death! It is a _monster_!'

'The only monster I see here is _you_!' sobbed Lorelei, still struggling. She suddenly broke free and hurled herself at the woman that stood before her. The ground underneath the queen suddenly exploded with a wild cacophony of sound. She was sent flying, screaming with pain. The rest of her people cried out with terror, and rushed to her aid before retreating hastily. Remy shuddered before slowly, cautiously staring at her. He blinked, his breath catching in his throat as the sound of Reiko's moaning caught his attention. He quickly went to help him up and found to his relief that his master's wounds were already beginning to heal. Lorelei whimpered softly with fear, in shock. Remy turned to her slowly, his face a picture of disbelief.

'What are you…?' Lorelei licked at dry lips, feeling nervous under Remy's intense stare.

'I…I didn't do that…I swear…I _can't_…'

'You did,' Remy said grimly. 'Believe me…you did…' And with that, he swept inside, carrying Reiko with him, leaving behind a very confused and scared Lorelei.


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The sun rose slowly, casting out a brilliant light, made all the more dazzling, almost blinding as the glow reflected off the whiteness of the snow. Though the sun seemed to be celebrating its own beauty, the magnificence of the scene was lost upon Dante, who continued to trudge on wearily. He had always known that the mountains were cold most of the time, but he had never counted on exactly _how_ cold they were. He had once told Trish that he was scared of nothing apart from losing those that he loved. He had also told her that he would never go into a situation with regrets, that he would take whatever risks necessary. He told her that he was very dogged when it came to a mission, nothing could deter him from his goal. He had never thought he would end up hating the cold. But then again, he hated the heat of the summer as well. He groaned softly to himself; it looked like the British tradition of complaining about the weather, no matter what the weather was like, had finally rubbed off on him.

He paused for breath, shivering in the cold and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply, breathing in the fresh air, and savoring it. In the city, everything was different. It was noisy, polluted, busy, filled with people. In the city you never really noticed whether you felt lonely or not, mostly because you didn't have the time to feel lonely. He loved it. The country, the mountains especially was completely opposite. There was so much open space, and there was nothing to fill it. There was no noise save for the sounds of falcons and small hawks calling to each other.

He tensed and blinked, stopping where he stood, trying to ignore the feel of the snow lapping into his boots. The baying of wolves echoed in the air, bouncing off the rocks. Dante growled softly to himself as he caught the faint taint of demon aura. It slowly began to grow and get stronger and stronger, until he felt that he was suffocating on it. His eyes narrowed as he tried to locate the demons, knowing they were close by. Suddenly, he saw a pair of orange eyes looming closer towards him with every passing second. From the orange eyes came the black wet snout, and then the red flash as the creature opened it's mouth and gave vent to another baying howl. Dante cursed under his breath. Wolves…white demon wolves.

It appeared as though Bolverk was still around. As he watched with growing despair, more and more wolves seemed to gather around him. His mind was wracked with worry. Here he was, cold, exhausted and ill equipped to climb great distances at great speed. How the hell was he meant to cope against them?

It was at that point that one snapped at him, growling. Dante hissed softly with pain as the wolf latched onto his hand, drawing blood. Crimson stained the pristine white snow, a large ugly mark. The smell of blood excited the demons and they began to draw nearer. Dante had no choice but to run.

Snow churned under his feet, coming out behind him as a spray. The wolves gave chase immediately, howling their hunting-cries to the sky. Dante felt his breath beginning to rise in his breath raggedly as he ran, stumbling every so often, too often as the snow threatened to throw him off balance. Adrenalin fuelled him, forcing him onwards. It seemed to do little good as the demons drew nearer. At last, he felt enough power rippling through him. He turned around to face them, sword in one hand, gun in the other.

He cried out with anger before bulling into them, cutting a swathe through them. The demons yelped with alarm as several of them fell to his deadly weapons. They doubled back before regrouping and charging him as one. Dante was ready as he dodged to one side, picking off a few of the demons that were running at the flanks of the horde.

As one, the horde turned quickly and rushed at him again. Dante tried to go for the same form of attack but the demons knew what to expect and promptly started running in a zig-zag line, making it impossible for Dante to slash at them like before. Dante hissed with irritation before flinging his sword at them, watching it as light reflected off it's shining blade, casting wild patterns on the snow. One wolf howled in pain as the sword sliced into it repeatedly, before collapsing into a bloody heap.

The rest stopped, more than half their number dead. Dante caught his sword as it swerved back towards him and readied himself. The wolves stared at him. One of them, the leader by the looks of things, gave a short guttural growl and then turned tail. The rest seemed to hesitate before following, leaving Dante to stare after them as they slowly receded into the distance, a mass of white. Soon they disappeared amongst the snow. Dante couldn't fight off the feeling that he hadn't seen the last of them. The fight had been easier than expected, and he knew from previous battles that a battle with a single demon wolf was never really easy, but to fight a horde of them was exhausting.

What had called them off? Had they simply gotten tired and left him alone? Dante didn't like that thought. He never liked to let an enemy live to see another day. Was Bolverk still around? Dante had thought that he had put paid to him when he was stuck on that accursed island. But he had seen stranger things happen. If Bolverk _was_ still around, then he'd just have to fight him and win again.

The solution sounded simple, but Dante knew that it was anything but. Bolverk had weight and speed to his advantage. And his weapon had better range than his swords. But if he had defeated Bolverk once, he could easily find a way to do it again.

Dante looked back towards where he had last seen the wolves and scanned the area. There was nothing. The demon taint had long ago disappeared, and he was left alone, isolated, in the bleak barren world of the mountains. With a soft sigh, Dante turned and continued trudging onwards. He almost wished that he had a single wolf to keep him company. It had been a worrying but nevertheless a welcome break to the traveling.

* * *

Lorelei sat down carefully beside Reiko and stroked a lock of hair away from his face. He lay still, unaware of his surroundings. She sighed before turning to look towards Remy. The vampire looked grave.

'He's no longer safe here. I do not know if the harpies saw whether we came out of the building or whether we re-entered it. We had been talking outside for a while when we were suddenly set upon. It's a huge risk for him to stay here.' He sighed and sat on Reiko's other side. 'But the question is, where are we meant to take him?' Lorelei looked thoughtful before looking up at him.

'We could always take him to Devil May Cry,' she suggested. Remy frowned slightly before getting up and pacing around the room.

'We could…' he said reluctantly. Lorelei caught the tone of his voice.

'What is it? What's wrong?'

'If we go to Devil May Cry, what's to become of you? Reiko told me everything, that you were staying with him so then your mother won't find you. So then you could have added protection from the dragon.'

'But think of it this way. I'm not really all that important, am I? I'm just a human girl who got caught up in this. If I die, then no one will really miss me. I'm not all that integral to any of this. Dante just wanted to keep me safe. Reiko _is_ an important person though, isn't he?'

'Yes. He is an important member of the vampire society. Not only that, but the Master Vampire asked him to gain an alliance with the harpies in exchange for his help.'

'What does Reiko need the Master Vampire's help for? He's strong enough isn't he?' Lorelei asked. Remy laughed humorlessly at Lorelei's question.

'He wants to form an army, to fight against this demon empress or something who wants to take over the world. All this is just a stepping-stone.' Lorelei's eyes widened and she quickly looked towards Reiko, surprised.

'An army?'

'Yes.'

'Wow…'

'It is a fool's errand. I don't like this deal he undertook with the Vampire Master. Something doesn't feel right.' Reiko slowly opened his eyes and groaned. He winced with pain as he tried to sit up and then fell back, panting slightly.

'What happened?' He groaned. Remy smiled towards him but looked vaguely nervous.

'Harpies. They attacked us.'

'I know that!' Reiko snapped with an uncharacteristic anger. 'I know that already. How did we get away? What happened?'

'Lorelei did…_something_…' Remy began.

'I didn't do _anything_!' Lorelei shrieked at that point, standing up quickly and facing him, rage blazing in her eyes. 'I didn't do anything, will you stop accusing me of stuff? I don't know what happened, maybe it was a gas explosion or something? A very small one?' Remy gave a short impatient bark of laughter.

'Don't you think it's odd how only the harpies, your enemies, were the only ones who got hurt? Surely if it was a gas explosion, a _teeny tiny_ gas explosion it would hurt all of us? Yet I was not hurt, and Reiko didn't sustain any further injuries. Neither did you.'

'I don't know what blood you drank tonight, but you're insane!'

'SILENCE!' The two immediately fell silent and both looked towards Reiko, who had succeeded in sitting up in bed. He was staring at them both, and rage was shimmering in eyes. Lorelei swallowed hard and Remy cowered down slightly before bowing nervously.

'Master, I was only saying that-'

'Enough, Remy.' His voice allowed no room for argument. His servant sighed before sitting down meekly. 'Lore…'

'Rei…'

'I want you to leave the room for a little while.' Reiko said, his voice calm. Lorelei felt tears suddenly sting her eyes, scared that she had done something to make him hate her.

'I'm sorry…' she faltered. Reiko smiled at her warmly, making her feel a little better, but not by much. She licked at dry lips before she left the room, closing the door lightly behind her. She rested her back against the door, and then sank to the floor, trying hard to calm herself, trying not to cry. Her breath caught in her throat before she started crying softly to herself, trying to stem her tears.

Voices were raised in Reiko's room. One was loud and angry, and the other was soft-spoken and humble. Who was who? Was Reiko really so upset? What was he upset about? Was he in a bad mood because he'd been caught so badly unawares? Or was it Remy, trying to convince Reiko that there was something wrong with her?

She thought about the words he had spoken to her and her crying began afresh. Her mother and sister had always treated her differently, had never allowed her the type of freedom that the other girls had had when they had gone to college or to school. She was twenty years old, and she was treated like a six year old by her family. Why? Did they know something about her that she didn't? And then there were all those girls at her school who had bullied her, and called her a witch and all kinds of names. Some wounds never healed, and this was one of them. Had they been right? Was there something wrong with her? Had Remy been right? _Had_ she caused that explosion? Was she really a freak?

* * *

High on the isolated mountains, the winds sang their wailing dirge and chased one another with a type of rough playfulness. Dante groaned softly with weariness and shivered before bowing his head against the relentless gale and struggling onwards through the snow. He stumbled, his feet losing their purchase on the soft treacherous surface, and before he was fully aware of what was happening, he was sliding back down the mountains, back down the ground he had only so recently covered. He winced as a sharp outcrop of rock struck him heavily on his side.

He lay there for a little while, stunned and winded, his side leaking blood. He could taste the metallic scent of it in the air, and he shivered again. The stiff winds howled, almost as though in wild derisive merriment. He slowly raised his head, the wind blowing back his hair from his exhausted features. With hooded weary eyes, he forced himself to try and gain a measure of how much further he had left to go before he reached the mountain's peak. The distance was considerable, and acted as a huge blow on Dante's already thin patience. He growled with anger before heaving himself to his feet and attacking the steep climb with all the ferocity of a tiger. A new born one that is.

He sank back onto the snow stained with his own blood with a small sigh, his eyes drooping as the cold slowly but steadily sapped him of his strength. Though it was fact that he was half-demon, it was also a fact that he was half-human, and like all humans, he could feel the dangerous urge to fall asleep where he was. However, even though it was an extremely alluring idea at this point, he tried to keep alert and awake, knowing that it could very well be fatal if he did give in to his need. Now however, his human blood was telling him that his body could no longer be forced to go on like this. So it was that he found himself resting, his side healing as he drifted in a state of semi-consciousness.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and his muscles tensed, forgetting about their earlier fatigue. A ringing funereal howl rent the air before other voices joined the cry, forming an eerie, beautiful yet dangerous choir, singing a mournful melody that sang of death. Dante swore under his breath and got up quickly, sniffing the air, his eyes narrowing. He peered back down the way he came and shook his head. He could see no sign of them but he knew the wolves could be anywhere. He looked around the area immediately surrounding him and cursed again. His blood had stained the snow crimson, and the scent of it was strong in the air. How long had he been lying there? Had the wolves caught the scent? He checked his hip, found to his relief that it had completely healed and then set his sights on the mountain peak. It was best to keep on the move.

He was lucky, it appeared as though his fears were ill founded and that he had no reason to worry. As he climbed to the top there were no wolves to be seen and he remained un-attacked. In the next hours that passed, he reached the top, a mixture of desperation and determination fuelling him. If he failed, then what would happen? The picture that Reiko had painted in his mind had been like a grotesque masterpiece; he at once hated it but had a morbid fascination with its ugliness. He couldn't stop thinking about it, and the images that surfaced in his mind filled him with a cold dread. This legend was their last hope. But what if it was just that? Some legend that a merchant had created in ages long past? But every legend had to be born of something, right? The story must have had some grain of truth somewhere.  
When he reached the mountaintop, he looked around and shivered, trying to breathe normally in the thin air, his chest constricting painfully with every gasp he took. Eventually, he stiffly sat down, trying to rub some warmth into his frozen legs. For a few minutes he did nothing else, merely sitting there, trying to regain his strength from the long, strenuous and dangerous climb. He took the opportunity to check out the lay of the land. To his immense relief, he could still see no sign of wolves. Moreover, their taint was still far off, too far away to be a threat. He relaxed and continued to stare around. From his observations, he predicted that the downwards climb would be considerably easier. But that stage would come later. Now was the time to turn his mind to more pressing matters.

Dante rose to his feet before slowly reaching into his haversack of supplies that he had kept with him. He dragged out the book and then flipped to the page he needed before clearing his throat experimentally. He took a swig of water, hoping that it would help ease his sore throat before calling out to the air, his voice mingling with the wailing winds. His voice rang out clear and sharp, sounding unnaturally loud in the desolate area, where only the gales kept him company. His voice echoed back at him, and Dante was surprised to hear that his voice carried an officious tone to it that he had not known he had created. He listened as his echo chanted back to him.

_Deliver us, Free us_

_We ask only for salvation._

_O warrior of heaven!_

_Warrior of flame!_

_Create for us a sanctuary from these destroyers,_

_This plague…Free us from their tyranny!_

_Lend me thy strength, Lend my thy song, thy speed, thy courage!_

_Lend my thy hope, and together, let us destroy all evil._

He sighed, feeling somewhat silly. To him it sounded fake, contrived, something that a rabid priest would say. And he was no priest. He was a demon hunter. He huffed out another sigh before he looked around. He began to panic. Why hadn't anything happened yet? Where was the phoenix? Had this all been a wasted effort? He scanned the skies and strained his ears, trying to catch the sound of phoenix song. He waited for a full half hour.

Nothing happened.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

Lorelei looked up as Remy left Reiko's room. He looked shaken and upset, his picture was an utter face of misery. One tear-stained face looked into another. Then he unexpected curled his upper lip back into a snarl, baring his fangs, his eyes glinting malevolently.

'What the hell are _you_ crying for?' He asked sharply. Lorelei stood up quickly, passing a hand quickly over her eyes before glaring at him.

'I could ask you the same thing, _vamp_,' she hissed scathingly. Remy averted his head to one side before walking past, as though she smelt like a dog that had rolled about in something.

'My master wishes to speak with you.'

'About what?'

'Go in there and find out,' he replied scornfully. Lorelei watched him go, a scowl on her face.

'Bitch…' she muttered before entering Reiko's room. He was sitting up in bed, propped up against the pillows looking melancholy. His face brightened momentarily upon seeing her before returning to its former miserable expression.

'Are you all right?' He asked.

'Yeah…could be better if it wasn't for Mr I've-got-my-thumb-up-my-ass.' Lorelei looked at him grinning, but this quickly vanished when she saw the serious and stern expression on his face.

'I know that you two have your differences but I will not tolerate any members of my clan being mocked in any manner. Not even by you. They are my responsibility.'

'You sound like what I expect a father to sound like. Twenty-two for the past three years and already you have more than a hundred kids. You sure got around, didn't you?' She had meant it to be a joke but Reiko didn't look impressed. In fact, he didn't even seem to acknowledge the remark, as though he considered it beneath him, as though it wasn't worth dignifying with an answer. She smiled with nervousness before sighing. 'I'm sorry.'

'There is no need to be.' The two were quiet, Lorelei picking at the bed cover absently, her eyes trained on the material, Reiko staring down at his hands, his hair dishevelled, his face pensive. Lorelei eventually looked up.

'So…what did you want to talk to me about?' she asked. Reiko looked startled momentarily before regaining his composure.

'Oh…well…Remy has alerted me to the fact that we're no longer safe here in my mansion. I wanted to consult your opinion, because I would hate to unsettle you by moving again when only now you seem to have become accustomed to my home.'

'I think we should move,' Lorelei answered immediately. 'To Devil May Cry. Dante wouldn't mind. Anyway, it's _you_ they're after. At Devil May Cry you'll be safe, they probably have no clue that you know Dante.'

'Rose wouldn't have told them, of that I'm sure.'

'How do you know?'

'She has a good pure aura, she is also independent in her thinking, unlike those harpies that we encountered yesterday but she also has very little to gain if she betrayed me. She'd kill a single vampire, but there are many more that could take my place and lead just as well as I. On the other hand, if she sided with me, it would be more to her advantage. She'd have my help in slaying the dragon, she'd also have my support in gaining an alliance, and she would no longer have anything to fear from other vampires if this alliance does take place. If you were in her position, which side would you take? She also owes me her life, just as I owe her mine. That sort of bond doesn't break very easily.' Lorelei sighed, at this last statement before nodding.

'You sure put a lot of thought into this.'

'Yes. But only because I have to. I'm afraid to say that you're also going to be a target for the harpies from now on. You defied the Harpy Queen and they will not be prepared to take that lying down. Her pride is at stake here, and they're incredibly proud and ferocious creatures. They'll be back and they'll be wanting to see you suffer. You're in as much danger as I am.'

'I don't care. It's for a good cause, right?'

'I wouldn't see it as that.'

'But I couldn't just _sit_ there and just _let_ them kill you!' Reiko smiled mildly at the outraged expression on her face but this quickly vanished when Lorelei glared. 'Don't laugh, Reiko! Please! I don't know what would have happened had they managed! I can't even _think_ about it properly. You're the only one who's ever seemed to _want _to listen to _me_! Me! You've never laughed at me, or teased me. You've always been so kind, even when I haven't been. You've always been supportive and you never even flinched when I told you my background. You mean so much to me!'

'Lore…'

'I love you…' Her voice died away to an angry sob. She seemed surprised at the sound and angrily stabbed her tears away before turning her head to one side, shaking. Reiko remained motionless, unsure as to what to do, having never been faced with a situation like this. He slowly, painfully slipped out of bed, dressed only in pyjama bottoms. He hugged her close and Lorelei automatically rested her head against her shoulder.

'It's okay,' he whispered, rocking her slightly, instinctively. 'It's okay…don't cry…it's all going to be okay…please don't cry…' He struggled with himself, having a faint idea as to what could sooth her as well as his inner turmoil, but lacking the courage to put it into action. He heard lore lei speak, her voice muffled against her shoulder.

'Remy hates me…he wants you to hate me as well…He thinks I'm a freak…he keeps accusing me…' She started to cry again. Reiko sighed softly, pitying her before he renewed his rocking.

'Ssh…well, no matter what he says, I'll always be here. I'll always lo-…uh…' Lorelei looked at him quickly, searchingly, her startling green eyes hazy with tears. He gently stroked a tear away, in the same instant leaning forward and kissing her gently. A sound escaped from her lips before she placed a hand on the back of his head, urging him to continue. Sadly, he didn't, and he slowly pulled away, a light dusky pink tinge dashing his cheeks. He smiled at her sheepishly before fidgeting. Lorelei leaned in against him, showing her willingness, and he automatically wrapped his arms around her, relieved.

'No matter what anyone says…' he whispered, close to her ear. 'I will always love you.' He smiled at her before he suddenly gasped with pain, releasing her from his arms. Lorelei backed away from him, eyes wide before being blinded by the sun. The sun! She cursed under her breath before scrambling towards the window, her vision impaired. Her hand caught the cord and before she was fully aware of what she was doing, she had shut the blinds. She sat there for a little while, rubbing her eyes, trying to see. She peered towards Reiko's general direction.

'Reiko? Are you okay now?' she asked. She turned slowly, to see that Reiko had fallen unconscious, the sun leaving large burns upon his body.

---

Far away, close to the sea, another harpy died.

---

Hope also died in the mountains, and the fire that Reiko had fanned after the fight with those cat-demons had been extinguished by the harsh, cold and bitter touch of failure. Dante walked as though he were a robot, his eyes were open and yet unseeing. Even the freezing temperature no longer bothered him, because the flames of anger and fear consumed him entirely. He shuddered, imagining what the others were going to say. Trish would simply be herself, she'd be concerned but for all the wrong reasons. She wouldn't understand him, not really. His thoughts turned back to the death of that young boy. Trish hadn't understood his feelings then either, even though she had tried hard. Rose's expression would be the hardest to face. Her eyes would turn dull and she would probably lose hope, just as he had done so now. Reiko, the one who was still searching for revenge against the vampire that had turned him would frown, the way he always did, before throwing himself into his books, to search yet again. Dante felt another irrational surge of anger, but this time it was directed at the vampire and not himself. It was Reiko's fault. Because of him, all of them had their hopes raised only to be shot to pieces.

Then guilt invaded his feelings. The book had said that the phoenix would only appear to those who were pure of heart. Maybe it was _his_ fault after all. But what had he done that was so unforgivable? Had the phoenix known that he was half-demon? Had that been it? He sighed heavily before sitting down on a smooth rock. He opened his canteen of water, sipping at it. He figured that he may as well take his time, it wasn't as though he had exciting or good news to deliver…

He sighed again and then shook his head, amazed and appalled at the extent of his failure. His throat felt sore, his mouth parched and he desperately took another swig of water. He paused in mid-swallow, choking on the water as it went down the wrong way. He coughed and spluttered, punching himself lightly on the chest until his condition returned to normal. He remained stock still, muscles tense, quivering, head cocked slightly, his hearing suddenly becoming sharp, his sight becoming more acute as he narrowed his eyes. There it was again; the baying of the wolves. Rage welled up inside him and overflowed in the form of the need to battle, to kill and slaughter demons, to send them back to where they belonged.

The morbid, eerie, wailing cries sounded again and Dante pin-pointed the direction from which they came and rushed off, snow spraying in a light powder behind him. Suddenly a new different sound drifted up to his sensitive ears, mingling incongruously with the dirge like cries of the demonic wolves. He paused before creeping forwards stealthily, planning to sneak up on the pack in order to better assess the situation.

Suddenly, a young boy with vivid red hair and mouse-brown eyes charged into him, almost knocking him flat. He steadied himself as well as the kid before frowning. The kid gave sobbing gasps and he automatically clung to him. Dante had a good idea of what had excited the wolves. The boy's clothing was ripped to shreds, and he shuddered violently with the cold, blood seeping out from several areas. Dante growled softly, causing the child to cry out with fear. Dante immediately held him close.

'Listen kid. These wolves aren't ordinary animals. They're demons, got it?' The kid stared up at him, eyes wide. He nodded silently, mute with terror. 'I'm half-demon too, but I'm a good guy. I'm going to protect you,' Dante said, keeping his voice firm and gruff, even though he could hear the wolves coming closer and closer with every passing second. The child gave vent to another terrified whimper. Dante could pick out the amber eyes, the moist black snouts, could see their breaths forming clouds in the wintry air. 'Do everything I tell you to do, and we'll get out of here alive. If you don't…well…then only one of us will get out of here alive and I can tell you, it won't be me.' The boy stared up at him, his strange eyes widening. Dante remained focussed on the demons, and tightened his grip carefully on the boy's hand. He was confident that the boy would get away safely. He had failed once, he would not do it again. He knew that he would rather kill ever last demon out there and die in the process than let the child be ripped to shreds. He would be proud to die in such a way. But that was only if the worst came to the worst. He was _not_ going to die if he could help it.

He raised one of his handguns, narrowed his eyes against the crying winds and took careful aim. A loud bang rent the air, a howling scream pierced the sky as a wolf fell. Dante had chosen his victim well, picking off the foremost wolf. The rest of the pack ground to a halt, sniffing the body of their dead leader.

'Run! Now!' Dante fled, kicking up snow. The boy's breath sobbed raggedly in his chest as he was half carried and half dragged through the snow. Dante cursed inwardly, unsure as to what to do. The wolves would not stay down for long; they would be quick to choose a new leader. Already he could hear a renewed baying chorus as the wolves worked themselves into a frenzy, could feel their demonic aura pulsate as they became more and more excited. He knew they would find it easy to follow him, the scent of the boy's blood was horrendously strong, and their footprints were as clear as water.

He said nothing to the boy, noting instead how the boy's eyes were already wide with fright, how he looked ready to collapse. He was gasping for air, his head bowed, forcing his legs to work. Dante was no fool, he could see that the child could not keep this up for much longer. Dante looked around quickly before noting a small entrance to what looked like a cave. He sped towards it, picking up the boy bodily before scooting into the cave. It was surprisingly warm and big enough for a boy and a man, but not for any demonic animals. Dante quickly placed the boy onto the ground and smiled at him, trying to reassure him.

'It's safe here. No matter what happens, I want you stay here. Only when I tell you it's okay, or when everything goes quiet outside do I want you to move. Got it?' A mute frightened nod, a shiver. Dante took off his coat and wrapped it around the boy before diving outside.

The cold invaded his senses almost immediately but was soon forgotten as the wolves launched themselves at him. He dodged to one side only to be met by another set of fierce jaws. He cried out in pain as they ripped at his back before breaking away, delivering a killing blow with his sword before whirling around. A red mist began to rise in his eyes and he roared out his hatred for them all, for the race that gave birth and death to his father, for the race that had corrupted his once pure brother. He screamed out his hatred, felt wings unfurl from his back, felt raw power escape and cascade over all those who were around him.

The wolves yapped in response to feeling such power, confused and baffled because they could still smell his human blood. Dante roared before grabbing his sword and bowling into them and scattering them like nine-pins. He was like a falcon amongst sparrows, he knew no other power and knowledge other than how to fight.

Suddenly, the mist disappeared and he was left feeling drained, exhausted. Had he…really lost so much blood? As a demon he had taken no notice of the fact that some of the bolder wolves had attacked him even while in his demonic form. The wounds had seemed like little, barely a scratch. But now they were telling. Pain washed over him and he felt himself sinking to his knees. The wolves hemmed in around him from all sides, sensing victory was near yet mindful that only seconds before, he had been a monster, like them.

One rushed at him suddenly and Dante reached for his coat pocket only to remember that he had left it with the child. And all his healing items with it. He screamed in agony as a wolf's teeth found his neck, searching for his throat, hoping to rip it out.

At that point, an eerie shriek ran through the air. The wolves paused before whining and trying to flee. Light struck them down, killing them on the spot. Pillars of light continued to rain down from the heaven's above, and before long, they were all either dead or gone.

Dante heard as though from far away the sound of boots crunching upon snow. He saw a face bend down over him and then watched the face smile mildly.

'You are a brave warrior, son of Sparda. Now tell me, where is the boy?'

Dante looked up slowly and smiled giddily, watching as the world swam past his eyes in slow sickening circles. He felt his eyes closing almost against their will. He could feel his body slowly shutting down, wanting nothing more to do with the living world. He heard as though from a great distance as soft footsteps crunched the snow underneath. He listened to words being spoken.

'I am correct in assuming that it was Sparda's son that called for our aid? I see…he protected you well, didn't he? Yes…well…I believe this means he passed the test. Courage, sacrifice, strength and heart. I believe it is time for me to return you to your proper form.' Even though his eyes were closed, Dante could still feel the golden flash of light through his eyelids. He flinched, his body reacting naturally but immediately groaned in pain, his body protesting to the violent movement. A high wailing song rang through the air but Dante knew immediately that this was no wolf's cry. The wolf sang of death, but this song spoke wordlessly of rolling waves, of pastures green, of heaven, of earth, of sea, of sky. It sang of life. It sang of peace.

To this, Dante smiled and closed his eyes for what he prayed was not the last time.

---

To his relief he did awaken but to find himself in a deliciously warm bed. He snuggled further into the covers and smiled to himself. This was the true pure meaning of bliss, surely?

'I'd hate to do this to you when I know that you would rather turn onto your side and go to sleep but I have to inform you that you have been asleep for two days,' came a soft voice. Dante's eyes widened and he sat up, immediately feeling dizzy as he did so. 'Take it easy. You took a few knocks to the head.' Dante looked around for the speaker, recognizing the voice as the one who had stood over him as he was losing consciousness on the mountains. He slowly, got out of bed, his whole body aching, despite the fact that his wounds had healed, and that someone had changed him into a pair of pyjamas. A rich, dark red robe had been placed neatly on a chair by his bedside and he took this gratefully, remembering the coldness of the mountains, wanting to be wrapped into the warmth. His eyes caught sight of a huge oaken table, and there, sitting at it writing on old yellowed paper was the one who had come to his aid at the last moment.

He looked up slowly and smiled mildly. Dante took in the golden brown hair, the turquoise eyes, the kind face and slowly sat opposite him.

'Two days?'

'Yes. Two days. You must have been exhausted. How long were you on the mountains for?' The man looked at him, his face expressing mild curiosity.

'Long enough to know I never want to do something like that again. Though I'm surprised; it's not everyday an angel decides to help out a demon, even if he _is_ part human.'

'You know I'm an angel? How?' The angel looked at him again, his curiosity intensified. 'It's usually hard to tell angels apart.' Dante sighed at that statement.

'I know one. Or rather…I…I used to.'

'Oh yes, of course. I am sorry-'

'He might come back,' Dante cut in quickly. The angel hesitated and then nodded. 'What's your name, angel?'

'Jean. Now. I'm quite surprised that you, of all people, knew the words to call for aid.'

'It actually wasn't me. It was my friend, he knew. He gave me this book.' Dante handed it to him. Jean hesitated before taking it gingerly.

'It stinks of vampire.'

'That's because my friend _is_ a vampire,' Dante muttered irritably. Jean raised an eyebrow.

'Who is he?'

'His name is Reiko Kaneshiro.'

'Ah yes, _him_. I knew his mother well.'

'WHAT?'

'Well, the Harpies and the Angels used to keep in touch regularly. But for twenty years, our communications have been much less than satisfactory.'

'Woah woah woah! Hoooooold on a second!' Dante waved his hands slightly, trying to get him to stop. Jean frowned and looked at him, his expression one of impatience. 'Reiko's mother was a harpy? Reiko's mother was one of THEM?' jean had the grace to look confused and slightly surprised.

'Yes. Didn't you know?' He asked politely. To Dante, his tone was infuriating. If he had known, he wouldn't have asked, would he?

'…does _Reiko_ know?' He asked, deciding to get to what was really important here. To his dismay, Jean shook his head.

'No. Adele renounced the throne in order to marry his father, Saniiro Kaneshiro. I doubt she told either of them. She probably did not want them to get mixed up in anything to do with her race.' Jean said finally. Dante sat back in his seat, looking thunderstruck.

'B-but then…that means…that means that Reiko's…he's…of royal descent! To the _harpies_ no less!' Jean looked at him impassively. Dante scowled, how could he _not_ realise how important this was? 'And not only that, there's the fact that Reiko's been searching all this time for the vampire that turned him! He wants revenge! He's been searching for him all along…'

'His blood would have killed the vampire that turned him.'

'Oh god…oh God…He's been searching all this time for something he could never find! He doesn't even know! He thought he was a human before he got turned…'

'It doesn't count for anything now. He is a vampire, and he will remain as such for all eternity.' A silence fell between the two men. 'Now please, I wish to be told why you plea for my aid.'

'It's more the aid of the phoenix I need. One dragon has arisen.'

'This is indeed grave. Say no more, son of Sparda. You have my trust. I have sensed the pain of this earth. Spend the night here, then at dawn, hurry forth with my blessing, before any more damage is done!'


	21. Chapter 21

**_There isn't very much more to this fic, about another three or four chapters, possibly even five if I can draw it out for everyone. So far, I love the fact that everyone has been so kind and so supportive of my writing. It does me the world of good, to think that right now, in a period of my life that seems to be so full of differences never before seen, that some things such as my fanfic writing will never change. Words can never express how much all of you, and your reviews mean to me. _**

**_Dante and Trish do not belong to me. However, anyone or anything that is not mentioned in the Devil May Cry games does belong to me. That's one hell of a long list that I will not go through because it would most likely take up to ten pages._**

**_Reiko would also like to thank everyone from the bottom of his heart for not being hated and not being labelled as a Gary Stu. Though if he is, then could someone please tell me so then I'm not carrying on the fic with the misguided conception that Reiko is loved when really he's hated? Thank you._**

**_Without further ado, I present Chapter 21 of Dark Legion 2:- Cursed Gifts._**

**_Read_**

**_Review_**

**_But most of all, enjoy!_**

**Chapter 21**

When Reiko next opened his eyes, he found himself in a position that had been similar to Dante's. He was in a bed, but in a room he distinctly recognized. The room had no windows, the walls and the ceiling had been painted white. They had once been pristine in their colour but as the years had passed, the walls had decayed to turn grey. Reiko sighed, staring around the room, his eyes falling upon the boxes that had been there unmoved and undisturbed. He could still see the Christmas decorations that Trish had taken great delight in strewing about the building. The general air of the room was one of gloom and neglect.

He wondered what time it was, whether it was day or night. He wondered how long he had been lying there. He licked at dry lips before carefully inching his way out of the bed, surprised to see that his wounds had been dressed, even though they had already healed and were no longer there. The whole building appeared to be silent so Reiko assumed it to be night. He stretched his limbs carefully, like some kind of cat, before wincing. His muscles were stiff but he acknowledged that this was nothing to be really bothered about. What really mattered was that there were no broken bones, no fractures. All he had left were faint bruises and other than that he felt as though he were in perfect health

He slowly went out of the room and paused when he found himself in the corridor. He stood still for several minutes, remaining motionless, at one with the darkness, simply listening for any type of noise or movement. He gave it a few minutes more before nodding once in acceptance and padding downstairs noiselessly, his eyes already well adjusted to the dark. He stood in a patch of moonlight that filtered through the living room curtains and checked the time on his watch, seeing that he had little time left to spend in the dark. He sat down on the couch, bored and feeling displaced and at a loose thread, as though he had nothing to do.

'Reiko?' He tensed and jumped out of his seat before spinning around, startled. Lorelei stood in the doorway to the lounge, her head tilted to one side, her hands behind her back, leaning against the doorjamb, one heel lifted off the ground. The pose made her look utterly innocent, a creature that knew no spite or malice. 'Are you okay?' Reiko smiled at the question before nodding silently. Lorelei shyly came closer, smiling timidly, as if unsure what to do or say. She eventually seemed to recover her voice. 'I feel so out of place here, as though I'm useless.' She paused and then looked at him carefully. 'And Rose is staying here too.'

'Aah…' he merely replied. He cursed himself inwardly as soon as the word escaped his lips. Was that really all he could come up with? Stupid man! Vampire! Thing! Oh whatever! Lorelei hesitated before moving even closer. Reiko closed the rest of the gap between them and held her close before sitting down with her on the couch, still hugging her to him.

'Lorelei?'

'Hm?'

'How long have we been here?'

'Oh, just overnight.'

'I see.'

'We waited an extra day before we moved you. We didn't want to risk anything.'

'I see.' Lorelei smiled up at him, and at his quiet manner before resting her head against his shoulder.

'I'm so glad you're okay…' Reiko ran his fingers through her hair before kissing her gently.

'You can't sleep?'

'No…I hate going to sleep in new places. I just can't do it. It was okay in your house. It was…you know…'

'Clean?'

'Yes! Exactly! When I go to sleep in a new place, I need at least one thing around me that isn't totally alien to me.'

'You look exhausted…' Reiko whispered gently. He watched in fascination as she yawned. 'Look, you can barely talk because you're so tired. You keep yawning…' Lorelei let out a soft little laugh before snuggling further into his body, which was still warm from his time spent in bed.

'Reiko? I brought your laptop along too. I thought that you might want to keep on top of your work,' she murmured tiredly. Reiko blinked in surprise but said nothing, only watching her as her eyes began to droop, as her head began to nod, as she wriggled closer to his warmth and the solid weight of his body. It was…sweet…And how had she guessed that he'd want to keep busy? It seemed that she thought of everything. Yet here she was, providing him with company because she couldn't sleep. All because she had nothing around her she was remotely comfortable with. Unless…

'Come with me…' he whispered, standing up. Lorelei blinked before righting herself and smiling up at him. She yawned again, her eyes watering before she followed him, almost as though she didn't really care about where the vampire was taking her. She became more alert when she found herself in the vampire's room, and found that Reiko's eyes were resting on her and were filled with an almost expectant light.

'Why don't you try going to sleep in here? With me?' he asked softly. Her eyes widened and she stared at him.

'With _you?_' Reiko took a step back, so affronted was he and hung his head, blushing as well as a vampire could.

'Well…ah…I…I didn't mean it like that…it's just that you were falling asleep against me downstairs…and I…er…I thought you…might be more comfortable if you did so while you were in bed…if that makes sense. It probably only does to me but…aha…well…' He was waffling and he knew it, but he couldn't stop it. Lorelei stared at him almost incredulously before she started to giggle.

'Who'd have thought it? That you could actually trip up over your own words?' Reiko wasn't entirely sure what he should say to this but smiled sheepishly. Lorelei laughed again and to him it was like music. He watched as Lorelei climbed into bed and shoved herself against the wall, still looking nervous and uncomfortable. Reiko sighed softly before sliding into bed beside her. She turned her sea-green eyes onto him and he was momentarily taken-aback by their piercing brilliantness.

'No funny business, okay?' she demanded, her voice hard.

'Okay…' There was a pause between them before Reiko propped himself up on one elbow. 'Do you really think I'd be quite so disgusting as to do that to you or as to force you into anything you don't want to do? I _love_ you!' Hearing those words falling from those lips filled her with a warm and indescribable warmth. She turned onto her other side and kissed him lightly on the nose. He wrinkled it, looking for all the world like a disgruntled cat.

'No…I know you're not like that. It's just that I've never done something like this before.'

'No…' there was a soft chuckle,' No, neither have I.'

'I thought guys weren't ever meant to admit to being new at anything.'

'Well…since when have I been ordinary or like other guys, hm?'

'Mm…' Lorelei giggled again. 'You _do_ make a good point.' Reiko smiled before kissing her on the forehead lightly, tenderly.

'Goodnight…' All was still for about ten minutes. Reiko listened as Lorelei's breathing became slow and deep, indicating that she was in a heavy sleep. He smiled before slowly resting his head down upon his pillow and closing his eyes, though he was far from tired. He sighed softly before he opened his eyes again, contenting himself with watching Lorelei's face as she slept. He smiled tenderly towards her, even though she was completely unaware and gently stroked his fingers through her long copper-streaked hair.

She stirred after a little while, her face crumpling into something of a frown. Reiko paused and looked uncertain and waited, hoping that her dream would end so then she could continue her sleep. Much to his dismay, she began thrashing slightly in her sleep. He chewed his lip anxiously before trying to wake her. She let out a loud piercing scream at that point before sitting bolt upright in bed. Her eyes snapped open and she stared about her in confusion. Reiko slowly sat up, so as not to alarm her and noted how she trembled. He pulled her into a gentle hug, much like how he had done only a few nights previously.

'It's okay…' he soothed, 'It's okay…it was just a dream…a meaningless dream…' Lorelei relaxed into his arms, still shaking lightly before nodding.

'I know…I know…' she whimpered. Moments of silence passed between them, Reiko holding her comfortingly, Lorelei's breathing slowly becoming calmer and regular. After a small while of this, Lorelei closed her eyes and sighed softly, her breath tickling Reiko's neck gently. He squirmed slightly, a smile ghosting across his face before disappearing.

'Why don't you tell me about it? What happened?' Lorelei stared at him, her eyes growing wide, as though he had just suggested something obscene. God knew…enough of _his_ nightmares were. He shuddered, shaking his head slightly, trying to pull himself away from those thoughts.

'I couldn't possibly…it was so vivid…'

'As vivid as mine?' Lorelei paused and looked at him as though terrified. 'What?'

'You…kn-know I s-saw th-that-'

'Of _course_ I know. How else would you have known what I was crying out that night?' Lorelei looked at him blankly. ' "_Iie Onegai?_" ' Lorelei's face dawned with realization.

'O-oh! Right! Y-yes…it _was_ as vivid as that…'

'Then tell me. I'll be able to understand.' Reiko smiled at her invitingly, but to his dismay, her face closed and became clouded.

'Maybe some other time…when it doesn't feel so…'

'Raw?'

'Yes…exactly.' Lorelei watched as the vampire nodded impassively before yawning, showing gleaming fangs. Instead of flinching like she usually did, she smiled. 'Let's just go back to sleep, okay?' The vampire nodded again in agreement before stretching languorously, giving Lorelei a brilliant view of his chest. She turned away, trying to suppress a smile before lying down against him, resting her head against his chest. She didn't see Reiko blink in surprise but she probably wouldn't have cared; it was a comfortable arrangement, and his body was warm from residing under the blankets. Somehow, the room wasn't quite as dreary when Reiko was with her.

'I love you, Rei,' she whispered. Reiko smiled and ran his hand through her hair before cuddling with her, feeling his eyes closing as he fell into a peaceful sleep. Lorelei soon began to feel weariness overcome her again, and though she tried to fight it off, it was a losing battle.

It was a while later when the two woke up. Lorelei went at once outside to the corridor to check whether it was night or day and then returned smiling, noting happily that it was the former. Trish was awake and was trying to cook, and from what Lorelei could smell, she was trying to cook half the kitchen at the same time. Lorelei smiled before pulling Reiko forcefully out of bed only to nearly succeed in pushing him _down_ the stairs soon after.

Trish looked up and blinked in surprise as Reiko and Lorelei came downstairs together, smiling at each other fondly, Reiko holding her hand securely. Rose took one look at the situation, glanced quickly at Trish before looking at her coffee intensely, as though she had found something of incredible interest in her steaming drink. Trish nudged Rose warningly before smiling warmly at the two, who were so enthralled by each other's presence that they had sensed nothing at all amiss.

'Reiko!' she cried, smiling broadly. 'How are you feeling? How are your wounds?' Reiko returned the smile, with the usual courtly grace he always adhered to.

'My wounds are now completely healed and pain me no more. Thank you for dressing them for me.' Trish blinked and looked momentarily surprised before her face returned to a neutral expression.

'You knew it was me?'

'I'm sure you have had great experience in dressing Dante's wounds,' Reiko said, his voice full of warmth. Trish smiled again at him before laughing softly to herself.

'You make one hell of a better patient. Dante always struggles. I usually have to knock him out, or try to before he lets me go near him. When you were brought to me, you were already laid out!' She watched as Reiko smiled sheepishly and turned his head away slightly.

'It is…rather embarrassing, I'm afraid. I always seem to be getting hurt somehow or another.' Reiko caught Lorelei's eye and smiled at her widely before turning to face Trish again. Lorelei smiled back before wondering out of the kitchen and into the living room, hoping to watch some television. Rose glanced quickly at Trish and Reiko and then at the retreating girl's back before following after the latter.

Lorelei smiled absent-mindedly to herself as she padded slowly around the living room, her thoughts filled with Reiko, her heart captured by him and her very being snared by the vampire. If this was some kind of spell that the vampire had placed upon her then she never wanted it break. She felt so happy, so relaxed, as though she were living in some kind of paradise that only she could access. She felt as though nothing could possibly shatter the dream-like state she now found herself in. Who would have thought that it was possible? A vampire to fall in love? And she to fall in love with one such vampire? It felt bizarre in that it felt so right. If this was what falling in love was all about then she wanted to make sure that she never fell out of it!

Her eyes ghosted across the mantelpiece, along the photo frames she had somehow missed before. She smiled again; she loved photos. She loved looking back at little memories from the past. And if the photos weren't anything to do with her, so what? She took delight in thinking that they were someone else's memories, and that someone else held them close enough to frame them and keep them on display. She looked with interest of the many pictures of Dante sitting with Trish and two other women that she didn't recognize. One had her hair styled so then it fell over one eye, leaving only one emerald green eye to stare out at her piercingly. A smile, something that was sweet and shy adorned her face. The other woman however, was slim and petite, her raven tresses setting off her heart shaped face, her bi-coloured eyes. Unlike the other woman, her face was set in a scowl, suggesting that perhaps she'd just been a butt of a joke. Dante was laughing, his eyes closed with mirth, signaling that he had made another unsavoury comment that only he found amusing. Lorelei smiled, deciding that if she ever met the woman, that she'd get along with her quite well. Especially if she hated Dante's one-liners as much as she did!

Her eyes slid across to stare at another photo, but what she saw wiped the smile off her face instantly. The photo depicted Trish and Dante sitting on either side of a young man, who couldn't have been any older than twenty. All three of them were smiling happily, at some thing that was known only to them. The strange man had brown hair that fell into his eyes, and deep brown eyes that were set into a cheerful face that one felt was trustworthy the instant they saw it. He looked a lot like Dante, and Lorelei knew instantly that the two were related, though how she knew not why. Ordinarily she would not have thought anything of the picture, would have merely thought of it as a nice photo, a nice memory of a happy day. But there was one thing that had been bothering her.

Even before her mother had taken her away from Devil May Cry, even before she had started to live with Reiko, she had started having dreams. She dreamt of fire, of death, of blood and of pain. She dreamt of screaming and crying, and then she had seen the boy's face loom in front of her vision, his eyes closed, his face pale, blood streaming out of what looked like white wings. When she had been living with Reiko, the dreams had stopped. But now she was back, and they had started again. What did it all mean?

She decided that it would be best to ask Trish, knowing that if there was anyone who would be willing to shed light on the matter, it would be her. She turned around to go into the kitchen but was surprised and alarmed to find herself coming face to face with Rose. Violet burned into emerald green.

'Rose…' Lorelei ventured cautiously. 'Hello. How are you?' She struggled to keep her voice even, frightened by the hostile look that had crept into Rose's eyes.

'You were staring at that photo for a long time.'

'Y-yes…I was just curious. I love looking at photos.' Lorelei realized that her voice was beginning to sound angry and defensive. Rose frowned at her before glancing at the picture quickly.

'You sense it too, don't you?'

'Huh?'

'The feeling of loss and gloom that's always running through here. You can feel it, can't you?' Lorelei started backing away from her, a little frightened at the fact that Rose seemed to be able to read her thoughts. In her eyes, the harpy was transformed into a monster, a monster that would read her thoughts and would tell the whole world about her awful, terrifying dream.

'I don't understand! I can't feel anything!' she yelled. Rose paused and narrowed her eyes.

'But surely you must! I mean-'

'I don't feel a damned thing! Except maybe for the irritation that talking to you entails!' Lorelei expected Rose to become annoyed, perhaps mad enough to try and attack her. Instead, a thoughtful expression pasted itself onto the harpy's face.

'So…this is too much…I can't believe it…this is…'

'Can't believe _what_?'

'I don't understand…why have you not been told?'

'Told _what_?' Lorelei repeated again, her eyes flashing with wild anger. Rose looked at her and lowered her eyes, shaking her head, looking at her almost pityingly.

'It is not in my place to say. I am sorry. I must go now.' Lorelei growled in a most unladylike manner before grabbing the other by the arm, holding on tightly for all that she was worth.

'Not so fast! How do we know you're not going to go to the harpies to tell them where Reiko is? To tell them that he's here, at Devil May Cry? They could come here and kill him and it could very well be because you decided to betray us!' Rose blinked before smiling gently at her.

'No, you don't have to worry…I can't betray him anyway.'

'…?'

'You see, Lorelei,' she began to explain, her expression kind. 'I have no need to betray Reiko, because I have a lot to loose if I ever did anything so foolhardy. I trust Reiko, and I know he trusts me. That should be enough knowledge for you.' She pulled her hand out of her grip and started to walk away. Just before she left, she paused and turned. 'A word of advice, Lorelei.'

'What?'

'Don't get too attached to the vampire.'

'What? Why?'

'Because of what he is. He is a vampire, and you are not. He is also on a dangerous mission. He could very well end up breaking your heart.' Lorelei glared at her and remained silent. Seeing that she was going to be treated in this sour manner, Rose merely nodded at her once in good-bye and took her leave, leaving Lorelei to sit down on the couch and moodily flip through the channels on the television.

Meanwhile, completely unaware of the conversation that had taken place between the two women, Trish was telling Reiko all the information she had garnered regarding the harpies. She was delighted to find that Reiko was as attentive as ever and was drinking in every word that she spoke. She was also pleased to find that Reiko hadn't interrupted her once, not even to tell her to stop talking so fast, something that Dante always did, to her extreme irritation. It was one of the reasons why she loved talking to him, because he was so receptive, because he would always listen with interest, watching her alertly, his hazel eyes shining from time to time with excitement when she was in a particularly good mood.

'I found out so much from Rose! It's great having a girl around here, and imagine our luck that she's a harpy too! It was just what we needed to find out what we needed to know about harpies,' she exclaimed happily, coming to an end. Reiko stirred ever so slightly before making himself comfortable. He quirked an eyebrow at her before looking towards the living room, as though distracted. Eventually, he brought his attention back towards Trish and leaned forward.

'Did you learn anything that might make my mission slightly easier?'

'I don't know…Harpies are pretty power hungry. That's the only thing I was really able to learn. That, and they're ruthless.'

'Hm…'

'I don't think I've been of much use.' Reiko shook his head, telling Trish that she was wrong. He lowered his voice.

'I think you have been of considerable help to me. I am sorry, but I have to ask you a favour.'

'Anything for you, Reiko.' Trish's eyes had widened without her even realizing it, alarmed subconsciously by Reiko's serious countenance.

'Keep Lorelei safe for me.'

'What? Where are you going?'

'That does not concern you. I merely ask you to do me this one favour. I will return shortly. Do not tell Lorelei where I have gone.'

'How can I? _I_ don't know where you're going!'

'And it is better that way.' Reiko stood up and granted her a brief smile before slipping out of the room, leaving Trish sitting at the table, staring blankly at the seat that Reiko had recently vacated. She had a terrible feeling that something untoward was about to pass, and that it would not be for the better.


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

Reiko swept into the living room to see Rose stalk out of the building, Lorelei staring after her. His love slowly turned around, her expression one of dazed confusion. She smiled sweetly at him before closing the distance between them, holding his hands in her own. She leaned forward and kissed him, bringing a smile to his face. Lorelei pulled away before blinking and cocking her head to one side.

'What is it?' she asked softly. Reiko quirked an eyebrow. 'You have this look in your eyes. You seem concerned about something. Your face is drawn and your skin is paler than usual. Something's wrong. Tell me, what is it?' Her eyes had grown wide and frightened and her own face had turned just as pale as the vampire's. She chewed on her lip anxiously. Reiko took a deep breath and held her close.

'I'm afraid I must take my leave.'

'What? Why? Where are you going?'

'I'm afraid I cannot say…it is of great importance, and I do not believe that it can wait,' the vampire muttered softly, his voice filled with regret. Lorelei reeled back at this statement, as though he had stabbed her, wounded her to the point that she would never heal. She stared at him through pained eyes and was surprised to see the agony that shone in those hazel orbs, mirroring her distress, piercing her where she stood.

'I understand now…' she said softly. 'You don't love me anymore, right?' Her voice had fallen to a soft whisper but Reiko heard how her voice had become tortured and choked. He winced before tightening his grip on her hand, careful not to hurt her, knowing that what a vampire might consider to be a light tap could be near fatal for a human being. He shook his head and kissed her deeply before pulling away and staring at her searchingly. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her, as though he would never let go.

'Don't ever let me hear you say that to me again!' his voice sounded odd, as though it were pained. His next words escaped him in the form of a hiss. 'I love you…I always will. I don't want to go but I must. It is a duty I must attend to for my people, my clan.' Lorelei looked up at him, tears filling her eyes.

'No…you're wrong…they're not your people. You don't belong with them. You belong with us, the humans. You're not like them.'

'I'm glad you think it. But that does not change who or indeed what I am. For three years I have been thus, and this is what I shall continue to be until the day my pretense at life ceases.'

'You said you don't want to go,' Lorelei whispered, her tears rolling down her face freely. Reiko was silent but he held her still closer, trying to comfort her as best as he could. 'The sun will soon rise. Stay one more day. Please don't leave me so soon.' She started moving, still holding his hands, pulling away from him. Reiko watched her with his drowning eyes, his features one of torment. She continued to move away from him, but tugged lightly at his hand, indicating that he should follow her. He did so without hesitation, without thinking. She smiled at his eagerness, his obedience and kissed him again.

'Just one more day,' she repeated again. 'Please. For me. For _us_.' Reiko found himself nodding and then found himself standing in the windowless bedroom. Lorelei closed the door behind them and kissed him again, over and over, and Reiko responded each and every time, his heart swelling with an unconditional love, and a raw need for him to demonstrate this love for her in some way. It seemed Lorelei also wanted to do the same, and it was with surprise that the vampire found himself on the bed, Lorelei on top, both of them kissing each other deeply, lovingly. Lorelei began to gently peel away his layers of clothing, making him shiver in the wintry atmosphere of the room. They kissed time and time again before making their love fully understood.

Downstairs, Trish sighed.

And prayed that an unhappy end would not befall her friend, the vampire.

---

Afterwards, Reiko cuddled Lorelei close, watching her sleep, a gentle but sad little smile on his face.

'I love you,' he whispered to his sleeping partner. She did not hear but she stirred slightly, a small moan escaping her lips. Reiko smiled again before brushing away a single strand of her hair. He leaned down and kissed her gently on the forehead before lying down beside her and holding her close, waiting for her to awaken.

He was a man of honour; after committing to something as intimate as what they had just done, it was dishonorable and cruel to leave Lorelei in such a position, as well as insensitive. He loved her far too much to ever do such a thing to her, and he was determined to prove his love for her somehow or another. Lorelei had unwittingly made him insecure when she had suggested that perhaps the vampire had stopped loving her. Reiko was determined to prove that this was not the case. Without even realizing, he cuddled her even closer and snuggled his face against her bare shoulder, closing his eyes as he felt her nearness. It was a sensation he couldn't quite get enough of, and after so long of living by himself without very many close friends, it was something which he took great delight in.

As the sun began to set, Lorelei began to rise. She stirred slightly against him before opening her eyes and blinking several times to clear her sleep hazed vision. Reiko watched all this with a tenderness he had once thought was impossible to feel. She suddenly noticed that he was watching her closely and smiled, as though in relief.

'You stayed throughout!' she cried, breathless with happiness. Reiko blinked before smiling and nodding.

'I would never leave you like that. I love you.' He kissed her gently before repeating, 'I will never leave you.' Lorelei seemed reassured and slowly sat up in bed, clutching the bed sheets around her, hoping to retain some modesty.

'How long are you going to be? You will be back soon, won't you?' Reiko smiled again before kissing her gently once more.

'I don't know how long I will be absent for, but I can assure you, I _will_ be back. You have to-'

'Trust you? Reiko, I trust you with my life. I just can't trust you with your _own_. I've patched up your wounds before, remember? And I have a terrible feeling that those wounds were mere scratches compared to what you usually get…' Reiko sighed softly before lowering his head, staring down at his hands. Lorelei curled her knees up to her torso and wrapped her arms around them. 'Promise me something, Reiko. That wherever you're going, you'll come back in one piece.' Reiko nodded silently at the request, his face grave.

'I promise to do my utmost to return to you.' Lorelei watched him searchingly before looking away from him, staring with unseeing eyes at the blank white wall.

'You didn't promise what I asked for.'

'What are you trying to say?' Reiko asked quietly, his eyes grave and serious, his voice soft. Lorelei bit her lip, hating herself for sounding so weak and fragile, hating herself for sounding so dependant and needy.

'Because if you go, something's going to happen, and you might not come back from it alive!' And melodramatic. God, she loathed sounding so melodramatic, and she carried this feeling of shame like a heavy burden. Reiko didn't laugh or spite her in any way. Instead, he cuddled her close to him and kissed her over and over, telling her without words of how much he loved her. Lorelei pulled him down on top of her, desperate for him, desperate to drown herself in the lake of passion.

---

'Do you love me?' Lorelei asked afterwards. Reiko looked genuinely surprised by the question.

'Yes! Of course I do!'

'Then don't go,' she replied bluntly. The vampire was utterly silent and had turned totally still and statuesque, in the way that only a vampire could achieve. It made her fear that he was gone even when he was right beside her and had his arms around her. 'Don't go.'

'You don't even know where I plan to go.' His voice was gentle, reasonable.

'I don't need to know. With you, I know that there can only be danger involved.'

'That's awfully presumptive of you.'

'But I'm right aren't I?' The vampire made no reply. 'See? You're not answering. I'm right.'

'Lorelei…'

'If it wasn't something dangerous you would have told me. But you haven't done and that shows only one thing; that you're hiding something. You would have told me if it was something safe. But because it isn't you haven't. And the reason why you haven't is because you're scared that someone is going to stop you! Someone like me…or Trish…or _someone_!'

Reiko bit his lip anxiously before silently slipping out of bed, grabbing his clothes and a towel and going to the bathroom, not wanting to continue this painful conversation any longer, knowing that it was not doing either of them any good. Lorelei was left lying alone in bed and she slowly rolled over to curl up in the warm area that the vampire had only so recently vacated. She let out a whimpering sob and started to cry heavily into the pillow, breathing in his faint scent.

'Don't go…' she whispered. 'Please don't go…I'll never see you again if you do…' She gasped as flames licked at her vision, as she heard a high piercing cry, as she watched drops of blood splatter on the walls. She sat up quickly, gasping for breath, her heart filled with a nameless dread.

'Reiko!' she cried out, her voice filled with a desperate urgency. She strained her ears but was rewarded by the sound of the front door slamming. She whimpered again before throwing on her clothes and rushing downstairs, calling the vampire's name. Trish met her at the bottom of the stairs, a frown on her face, looking confused and concerned. Lorelei ran straight into her arms, gasping still.

'Reiko…where…where's Reiko?' Trish held her, supporting her.

'Reiko? He just left. He wouldn't tell me where he was going…'

'Oh no…' Lorelei groaned with despair. 'No…no…already? But…' she flung herself out of Trish's arms and hurtled through the front door. 'Reiko!' she screamed. There was no answer. The stars stared down at her and only the moon was there to hear her cries. She shivered in the cold night air and ran a little way before pausing. She took a deep breath, filling her lungs with as much air as she could.

'Reiko! Reiko!' she cried. But even as she called for him, she knew that it was no good. The vampire was already well on his way, and had melted into the darkness.

---

Reiko continued to move within the shadows, his eyes ready to notice any motion that was made around him. The rustling of the leaves as the wind blew past them, the rippling of the water on the surface of the roads, the roaring of cars as they sped past him, never noticing him so well hidden was he. None of this escaped his attention. Overall, for a city, the night was peaceful, but the aura of calm was lost upon the vampire.

His mind was focused only on the mission that had presented itself to him. Trish had said that harpies were a power-hungry race, that they loved the bathe in the glow of might, that they would do anything for a little more. There was no such thing as enough power, and the harpies' craving for it was boundless. Just as he was trapped in the prison that was life, they were trapped in a prison of their own making. Their hunger for might would never be satiated. It was an odd thought, but what was perhaps more strange was the fact that Reiko felt able to gain some comfort from knowing this, and was able to keep his spirits up. There were some similarities between their races after all. There _were_ some things they had in common, he just needed to find them all. If he could then making this bond would be much easier. It just _had_ to be.

He shivered slightly as cold high winds blew past him and he found his thoughts turning to Dante. Where was he and what was he doing right now? Was he even still alive? Had the myth worked? He had no way of knowing and all he could do was wait and hope. He shook his head before forcing himself to focus his attentions on what lay before him. He needed to keep his wits about him if he really wanted this to work. He licked at dry lips before moving again, keeping to the shadows, the way he always did, uneasily scanning the skies in case any harpies were out and about. He thought of Lorelei. This had to work for her sake. He had never felt this way about anyone before, and the thought of hurting her caused a lump to form in his throat. He'd found something precious. He didn't want to lose it after such a short period of time.

Soon, he had entered into the industrial region of the city that stood alone and abandoned in the small hours of the night. Only rats or perhaps a stray cat or two would visit the area at this time. He checked the skies again before stalking forwards, his body lithe and graceful in the darkness. A cat mewed at him from the darkness and he hissed softly in reply, causing the cat to melt away with a flick of its tail. He paused, scented the air meticulously before moving forwards slowly, carefully. Eventually, he turned in a full circle, feeling uneasy and apprehensive before pressing his hand against a wall. When the surface shimmered slightly, Reiko smiled and stepped through.

The noise of the guild embraced him the way it always did. Vampires gathered in their groups, talking quietly amongst themselves, gossiping and sharing news. They fell silent as a few caught sight of him. They watched him as one, waiting for some kind of instruction, paying him every attention. Reiko merely nodded at them, giving his silent motion for them to continue on as normal as he began climbing the steel stairs that led to the first floor. Reiko padded towards his main office, sighing as he did so, aware that many of the vampires were still watching him curiously. He slipped into his office as quietly and as unobtrusively as possible but was dismayed to find that he had not taken enough care. Remy soon appeared and watched him closely.

'Master,' he intoned formally. Reiko nodded, acknowledging that he was there before shifting the glass panel that acted as a counter, revealing the trunk that it had been resting upon as though it was the actual base for a proper table. 'Master,' Remy repeated again. 'Do you need any help?'

'I care not for your services. Leave me to my own devices.' Reiko looked up quickly as soon as he had spoken, realizing how harsh he had sounded. He sighed. 'I'm sorry. I'm under a great deal of stress at the moment.'

'I can see that,' came the dry reply. Reiko turned his back on him once more, telling himself that he had no time for foolish emotions to come in the way. If Remy was going to be overly sensitive, then that was his problem to deal with. As for him…well, the darkness would not provide cover for eternity; time was limited. He simply had to get what he needed and then move out as quickly as possible.

He heaven open the trunk and gazed at the contents, ignoring for the first time ever his keepsakes from his childhood. He sifted past the photos, a broken yo-yo, a pair of roller skates, and a traditional Japanese costume that had once belonged to his father. Afterwards, when this was done and provided he came back in one piece, he would have to take these things home. A guild that was filled to the brim with vampires was no place for such treasured items to be kept. Eventually, he reached the bottom of the trunk and smiled as he slid open the secret compartment. He looked around quickly before noting that Remy had left him alone, just as he had asked. He delved into the trunk, pocketed something, closed the old chest and then got up. He replaced the glass panel back to its proper place before dusting off his clothes and drifting out, locking the door behind him.

He seemed to glide down the stairs and before any of the vampires were able to notice once more his presence amongst them, he was gone and was back in the world outside.

Reiko took a deep breath and closed his eyes before setting off into the darkness once more, his eyes always on the alert, this time looking for harpies, not to hide from them but to approach them instead. But the problem presented itself to him immediately; where was he to begin looking? If the dragon was out and about and hunting only harpies then most would be in hiding. He realized that what he should have done was to go to Rose and ask her where to go. As soon as he thought of this, he rejected it, knowing that Rose would never agree. Lorelei had been right. He'd been scared that someone would try and stop him had they known what his plans had been. He paused suddenly, his eyes narrowing. Had he just heard it? Yes, there it was again. He hissed softly to himself before dashing forward, staff at the ready, leaving the safety of the shadows, running out into the open.

Sure enough, there were two young vampires, slightly younger than himself. By the looks of things, they had turned to death as humans at the age of seventeen. They were both cowered against a wall, their eyes wide. Before them stood three harpies, Reiko could tell immediately because of their soot coloured wings. He was alarmed to realize not for the first time that he could sense no difference between them and ordinary humans. He let out a feral snarl, hoping to distract the harpies for a split second. As planned, the three stopped and Reiko dashed in, standing between the vampires and the harpies. When the latter three next turned in his direction, the surprise in seeing the extra vampire was only too obvious. The two young vampires opened their eyes slowly and looked up, puzzled by the stillness and the lack of noise. The male caught sight of the black coat, the staff and the proud stance and quickly put two and two together.

'Master!' he gasped. The female shivered and drew closer to her companion, her eyes wide with fear. Reiko gave them a quick glance, silently checking them over before smiling with satisfaction. They were scared but unhurt. He dreaded to think what he would have done had his brethren been injured in any way.

'Asrun.' Reiko's voice was loud and commanding, clear.

'Master?'

'Take Lily and go.'

'For help?' There was a silence. Asrun was shocked to see Reiko shake his head. Was he crazy?

'I want no one else to become involved. Return to the guild, tell Remy that he is in charge until I return.' _If_ I return…he thought to himself sadly. He realized that the two were still there. 'Well? What are you waiting for?' he said sharply. '_Go!_' He heard movement behind him, felt their auras fading, knew that they had obeyed. He then faced the harpies, who were all looking puzzled by the sudden turn of events. He smiled and lowered his weapon, startling them even more.

'My apologies, ladies. I am sorry for appearing to threaten you. I mean you no harm.'

'Shame,' growled one, recovering from her surprise. 'Because we _do_.'

'I have words with your Queen.' All three of them stopped again, gasping.

'What?'

'With Queen Romana?'

'Her Excellancy?'

'You are indeed correct. I wish to speak with her on a matter of great importance. I speak on behalf of my people and on behalf of those of your race, for I see no way in how our feud is benefiting either of us.'

'What are you trying to say?'

'I wish to form an alliance. I wish to renew the bond that once existed between harpies and vampires. The bond that once was in place before the troubles began.' All the fight seemed to have been knocked from the three would be attackers.

'And…and w-why would you expect our Queen to give you a hearing, vamp?'

'Yes, what makes you think that she'll want to listen?'

'W-why would she want to form an alliance with your disgusting kind?' Reiko took in the expression on their faces and noted how their eyes shone with a strange light of uncertainty. He had them right where he wanted.

'Because,' he said quietly, in a voice that commanded authority. 'Because I can offer your race the kind of power that has never been encountered by any King or Queen in your history, the kind of power that is above even your wildest dreams.' The harpies were unsure as to what to do; Reiko could see their indecision reflected in their eyes. He knew that they were asking themselves the same questions; was he telling the truth or was he lying? Should they attack him as one and kill him now and run the risk of losing the chance to gain more power and glory for their race, therefore incurring the wrath of their Queen? Or should they take him to the harpy strong holding? At length, the first, the eldest one, stepped forward, her position at ease.

'Vampire, we have decided to give you the gift of life. We have decided to give you a chance. If what you say s true, then I am sure that her Excellency will give you a warm hearing.' Reiko bowed low and smiled.

'And of course, if it turns out that I have betrayed your trust,' he said slowly, thoughtfully, 'then I am sure that no mercy will be shown. For what chance does a single vampire have against many of your race?' The harpies silently agreed and felt slightly more comfortable with the situation. He was right, this strange vampire, they decided. What could possibly go wrong?

Reiko followed them silently, two behind him and one in front. He had their trust, he'd be granted a hearing. What could possibly go wrong? He already knew the answer.

Everything.


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

The mountains had grown no warmer and as the sun rose, Dante found himself trekking onwards, back down the way he had come, the phoenix flying low beside him. Dante smiled wryly as he remembered how Jean had been shocked that Dante hadn't been struck down by awe at the beautiful bird. It was nothing that he hadn't seen before and he had said as much to the angel that had been so kind to heal him and shelter him from the cold. The journey up to the mountaintop had seemed arduous and long and Dante was surprised to see that the return trip down the steep slope was nowhere near as tiresome. Perhaps it was because he had some form of company now, even if it was in the form of a creature who could not talk in the human tongue. Still, it was something nonetheless and he found himself feeling immensely grateful.

The bird was an intelligent creature, and also appeared to be highly affectionate towards the demon slayer, something that the angel had found to be extremely disconcerting. Dante had simply smiled though; it appeared as though most animals treated him in such a like manner, with affection and loyalty. Yet he couldn't help to look upon the glittering golden red feathers with a feeling of sadness resting within his heart. Whenever he saw those fierce yet gentle golden eyes his throat felt suddenly tight. Most of the time he managed to push such thoughts away from his mind and was more than able to carry on as though nothing in particular had happened. But each and every time this happened, it got harder and harder to keep the emotions from clouding his thoughts.

The way the phoenix acted towards him did nothing to help the matters. The phoenix was intelligent, it seemed to behave in a regal and refined manner towards the angel, yet towards Dante the phoenix would drop all reservations and completely open up, as though a complete transformation had occurred. It would croon and preen and would constantly try to perch comfortably on his shoulder. This in itself was no bad thing, but Dante himself was reluctant to allow the phoenix to do so; it brought back way too many memories, some of them sad, some bitter-sweet, none entirely pleasant. When Dante would eventually brush the phoenix away the bird would croon questioningly and would stare up at him inquisitively. Whenever it did that, Dante couldn't help but freeze and stare at it as though it had grown another head, staring at the bird that was acting like a mirror from his past. He knew, he just _knew_ somehow that he had met this bird some time, long ago, seven years ago.

He had to be wrong. If the phoenix had left the side of his old friend for a new position beside a different person then it meant…

No. Dante shook his head, narrowed his eyes, hardened his heart. This was not the same bird. It couldn't be, wouldn't be. At that point, the phoenix gave vent to a throaty cry, causing the demon slayer to look up quickly. Demons. Dante smiled before sheathing Alastor at his back and pulling out his gauntlets, Ifrit. He felt their power envelop him immediately, almost joyfully, bringing a thin smile to Dante's lips.

'I know guys, I missed you too,' he chuckled, as the gauntlets found Dante's own core of power and converged with it immediately. The cold no longer seemed to bother him, the snow around him had melted to reveal the dead grass that lay frozen beneath. The demons were getting closer and it appeared as though the wolves were in love with punishment. Dante rolled his eyes, his cocky nature rising to the fore. It was only then that Dante really smiled, his heart truly in it. He was back. He could do anything if he tried hard enough. So what if there was a dragon? Something had finally gone right for once. He glanced at his shoulder to where the phoenix had yet again perched. He grinned with good nature. He had the means now to go dragon-slaying. If the phoenix would really be able to defeat the dragon then he seriously saw no harm in letting the phoenix stay where he was.

The demons came closer and more of Dante returned.

Let them come.

They had no _clue _what they were in for.

And with a cry of jubilation, death came down to sweep the wolves off their feet and into the dark abyss that waited.

---

Lorelei sighed softly as she sat at the kitchen table, watching listlessly as Trish placed a hot drink in front of her. Lorelei looked at it blankly. Coffee. She took a sip as Trish watched her hopefully. Lorelei sighed yet again as she set the mug back down. Not as good as Reiko's…Trish bit her lip and then sat down opposite the young woman.

'He probably will come back you know,' she said cheerfully. Lorelei looked at her sadly.

'For a second, I almost believed you.' She closed her eyes and rested her head upon her arms. She heard as though from far away as a door opened and closed.

'How is she?' Rose. She imagined Trish shrugging, could almost envision it through her closed eyes.

'She still hasn't eaten anything.' There was an audible sigh of frustration. There was a sudden scraping of wood against tiled floor; Trish had stood up.

'Where are you going?' Rose asked.

'Bathroom. I shouldn't have tried to cook those burritos for lunch.'

'Too much info, Trish,' Rose chuckled. There was a replying laugh which faded as Trish walked towards the bathroom. She felt a hand stroke through her hair gently and heard another soft sigh. 'I warned you, didn't I? To never fall in love with a vampire. Now you know why. They bring nothing but hurt.'

'I thought you liked him,' Lorelei whispered, raising her head, watching as Rose sat down in front of her.

'I _do_. But unlike you…well…I've…I've fallen in love with a vampire before. I know that Reiko is not for me. I'm content to be his friend, nothing more.' Lorelei was silent in the face of this sudden revelation. 'I don't want you getting hurt the way I did.'

'And why do you care whether I get hurt or not?' Rose paused at that statement and looked at her almost cautiously. Lorelei's gaze did not waver for instant.

'You're right…' Rose whispered. 'Why _do_ I care?'

---

Fire whipped and crackled, burning through the snow towards the demons. Flames leapt around one sole figure, wrapping around his arms and his legs, dancing as the fires hissed for more, for more blood, for more death. There was a sudden eerie laugh and then, abruptly, the flames stilled and died down, disappearing altogether. Carcasses decorated the snow, blood splattered everywhere, the crimson creating a surreal effect amongst all the white. Dante looked upon this and smiled, his aquamarine eyes stirring with a rekindled light that had long ago been thought dead. The blood on the snow didn't bother him in the slightest.

Dante was well and truly back.


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

The two young vampires that Reiko had protected and freed ran like they had never run before, Asrun half dragging Lily along in his haste. Lily whimpered, exhausted through fear. Asrun heard and bit his lip anxiously, only allowing her to stop and rest when he judged that he was a safe distance away. He stared towards Lily and frowned as she looked up at him.

'Has he turned mad?' she gasped. Asrun looked at her sharply.

'It's sacrilege to talk about him like that. He's a legend, I'm sure he knows what he's doing.'

'Somehow, I'm not as sure as you,' Lily muttered. Asrun was silent, his head bowed in contemplation. At last he raised his head, picked his companion up and ran as swiftly as he could.

'I don't care what Kaneshiro said; I'm going to get help! I'm going to tell Remy everything!'

'Tell me everything about what?' came a soft voice. Asrun ground to a halt, taken totally by surprise, that someone other than Lily had heard him. His eyes shimmered slightly with mild fear as he turned around. Remy stood before him, his face impassive.

'It's Master…he told me to tell you that you're in charge and responsible for the clan until he returns…'

'_If_ he returns,' whispered Lily, her eyes lowered. Remy caught the tone in her voice and frowned, looking towards her.

'Girl, tell me everything that has happened.' Though Remy was Reiko's right hand vampire, he had nowhere near as much authority as Reiko, nor did he command as much respect. He was no legend and he wasn't a hero of any description. Whereas Reiko knew the name of every single vampire under his command, Remy only knew a few names and they were always those of the eldest vampires, never those who were new, who were young. The youngest vampire Remy knew by name was Reiko himself. Lily looked at Remy frostily.

'My name is _Lily_ not "Girl".' Asrun nudged her sharply before telling the older vampire everything that had happened. By the time he had finished, Remy's face had turned pale.

'And he told you not to tell anyone about this? He told you not to ask for any help…' He paused. 'You did right in telling me. Go, get some rest and stay in the guild building. You are not to leave it. Understand?'

'What are you going to do?' Asrun whispered, seeing the odd gleam that had settled in Remy's eyes.

'I'm going to gather our clan's vampires together. We outnumber the harpies now. We're going to bring Reiko back! Enough is enough of this attempt at a truce! This is going too far!' Asrun and Lily stared at him in shock and horror. Wasn't this vampire going directly against Reiko's orders? Remy looked at them dangerously. Asrun and Lily lowered their heads and left immediately, sensing they were dismissed. Remy soon followed them into the guild and immediately went into the office upstairs, checking his supplies. If he needed to fight for Reiko's safe return, then he needed to make sure he had what was required to cast his spells.

---

Reiko followed the harpies quietly, his footsteps making no sound. The four suddenly drew to a halt, the shortest of the three women drawing out a piece of black cloth.

'We cannot take you any further without restricting your sight,' she proclaimed. Reiko eyed the cloth warily.

'You wish to blindfold me.'

'You can understand why, surely?'

'We don't want you to tip off the others as to where our base is.'

'It's the same for how we don't know where _your_ base is.' Reiko listened to the explanations before nodding gravely, not liking the idea of being blinded, but seeing no other way. He would simply have to trust them, would simply have to assume that they really would take him to their Queen. The harpies wasted no time, holding him tightly, roughly, as they tied the cloth around his eyes securely before letting him go. He felt a harpy take him gently by the hand and pull him along carefully. It gave him a bit of hope, that maybe his guides wouldn't be too cruel. His hope was short-lived; the harpies saw no need to tell him when there was a dip in the path or when he had to navigate steps. When he stumbled and fell painfully, they laughed derisively and continued to push and pull at him mercilessly until he regained his bearings and got to his feet, driving him onwards relentlessly. Reiko had never thought that being blindfolded would be such an exhausting experience.

Eventually though, they arrived and the blindfold was loosened. Reiko blinked several times before checking the sky for any signs of the sun, feeling relieved when he saw none. The second thing Reiko realized was that he would never take such a precious commodity as sight for granted again. He turned and blinked, his breath catching in his throat.

Before him stood a huge building which, even though it was old, couldn't fail to impress him. He stepped closer, towards the old stone steps that had been weathered away out of shape over the eras of time. The building was gothic in nature, and this immediately appealed to the vampire. The building was beautiful in his eyes, and even though ages and weather had tried to beat it down, the effects it had upon the building made it even more stunning.

'This is…'

'Not fit for a Queen of Our Majesty's standing,' one harpy cut in sharply, silencing him immediately. After a while, Reiko plucked up his courage again and frowned.

'I think it's wonderful.'

'Yes well vampires never have much taste.'

'No,' said another, shaking her head. 'They're very uncivilized.'

'Indeed they have no concept of what true royalty deserves.' And with that, the three marched right past him, up the stairs and through the gigantic doorway. Reiko licked at dry lips, fought back his nerves and then followed them into the building.

The inside décor of the building seemed to far surpass the exterior. If Reiko had been impressed then, he was utterly gob smacked and confounded now. It screamed of riches. Expensive tapestries and paintings adorned the walls, a plush rug lay on the floor, pristine. One harpy was constantly standing beside it, causing a sudden curiosity to flare within the vampire. The harpy seemed to be constantly staring at the rug as though it were a living creature before suddenly being galvanized into action, picking up a single white piece of fluff that had threatened to mar the rug's perfection. Reiko was at once horrified and amazed, horrified because of the sheer extravagance of it all, and amazed by the amount of wealth these people had to squander. He stared for a little while longer at this type of excessiveness with widened eyes before falling close behind his three harpy guides. Several of their fellows paused to stare at him, not bothering to hide their anger and their hatred. They stared upon him with sneers on their faces, their eyes filled with pure loathing. Reiko lowered his eyes, beginning to feel ashamed of himself. Then he told himself to get a grip. Of course they would hate him; he was a vampire. He should have been used to it by now, for didn't ever creature hate what they feared?

He raised his head and regained his composure, following his escorts, struggling to maintain his calm poise, his aura of dignity and unshakeable pride.

It was at that point that he felt some solid weight crash into him from behind, making him stagger slightly but not enough to make him fall. He turned slowly, cautiously, half afraid of what he might see. A huge cavalcade of harpies, all armed to the teeth, waiting to kill him? A deathly hush had fallen upon everyone in the building as the vampire turned slowly. To his extreme surprise, there was only a small child, a little girl of about six years. Her eyes were wide with fright, her bottom lip trembled and whimpers escaped her every so often. She had fallen and appeared to have a scrape on her elbow, which she was nursing diligently.

Reiko suddenly felt acutely uncomfortable and looked up to see that many pairs of eyes were fixed upon him. They all seemed to be filled with some strange sense of expectancy. His three guides had stopped and were also watching. Reiko looked back down at the child.

'P-please…' she whimpered suddenly. 'Please don't kill me…' she trembled as she poke. Reiko was immediately struck by a peculiar sense of sorrow.

'I'm not going to hurt you in any way,' he said, his voice gentle.

'B-but I bumped you!'

'So have many others,' he replied, still keeping his voice soft. 'I have never hurt them.'

'But you're a vampy and they kill everyone.'

'Not all of us. _I_ don't anyway.' He paused, eyeing the scrape on her arm. 'Let me see?' The girl pouted and started backing away before looking towards the crowd around them. Reiko watched out of the corner of his eye as there was a slight movement within the crowd. The little girl came towards him again and cautiously held her arm out to him. Reiko was careful in inspecting the graze and then smiled slightly, digging into his coat pocket, taking out a small blue gem.

'Here, hold this,' he said, handing it to her. The girl did as told silently, her eyes widening slightly as the gem coated her in a blue light, much to the concern of the gathered elders, who began to gasp with fright. Soon the aura disappeared, and the girl blinked several times before looking to her now healed arm. She smiled properly for the first time, sincerely. Reiko grinned back in return and gave her an unopened pack of chewing gum.

'That's for being brave,' he told her, and without another word he turned and caught up with the three guides.

'Thank you Mr. Vampy!' The child cried after him as the harpies resumed their normal activities. The vampire smiled inwardly, relishing his new nic name. Kids…

'Do you just happen to carry gum with you at all times?' said the youngest of the guides. Reiko smiled, looking somewhat sheepish.

'Actually yes, would you care for some?'

'Ugh…no.'

'I expect you have to have some with you to cover up the smell of blood on your breath,' said another.

'After all, vampires can't taste anything _but_,' added the last cuttingly. Reiko remained silent, not wishing to explain himself to three people who wouldn't even try to understand. He had always enjoyed the taste of gum when he had been a mortal. It was a habit he hadn't wanted to rid himself of as a vampire. It was a reminder of a time before, when he could bask in the morning sun's rays.

They continued to walk until they reached an ornate set of double doors. They had jewels inserted into the woodwork with ornate rubies for door handles. The male guards growled as they caught sight of the vampire and immediately barred his way with their spears.

'State your business, vamp! None of your kind have set foot into the royal quarters!' They barked out at him. Reiko remained silent but then grew aware that his three guides were reluctant to speak for him. He cleared his throat and stepped forwards, head held high. He stared one of the guards straight in the eye, and watched the expression of surprise cross the harpy's face as he felt no pull from the vampire's eyes.

'My business involves speaking with the Queen on an important matter. As you can see, I am going about this in a civilized manner. I have not attempted to storm the building in any way, nor have I tried to kill anyone here. I am not interested in death, I have never been. Will you let me pass?'

'You might be trying to kill the Queen once you're in there.'

'If you doubt the sincerity of my words than by all means, stand by me and act as a witness. I mean no harm whatsoever. In fact, anyone who wishes to see the exchange between the queen and myself is more than welcome. I have nothing to hide or be ashamed of.'

'And if the Queen turns you away?'

'I'm afraid I cannot leave without a hearing. If she does demand my removal from the premises then she would be turning away a fantastic opportunity. She would be turning away the promise of power and glory, the likes of which have never been seen by your race.' Reiko announced, without blinking. The guard motioned to the other, who nodded and went inside the Queen's chamber. Reiko turned to look behind him and smiled gently at the three harpies who had guided him. The youngest one volunteered a replying smile. Reiko nodded cordially before facing the front as the door opened. The guard stared at the vampire in disbelief.

'You have been granted a hearing on the condition that you leave any weapons with me.'

'May I collect them later?'

'Once you leave the building.'

'Agreed.' Not that he had much choice in the matter…Reiko handed his staff to the guard. 'I trust you'll take good care of it.' The guard said nothing but held the door open for him. Reiko bowed his head slightly before walking through.

The throne room took his breath away. It consisted almost entirely of white marble. The walls were entirely made of glass but were covered with thick heavy drapes. Reiko was thankful for this; though it was still dark outside, some sixth sense told him that it would not be long before the darkness began to scatter as the sun chased it away. The drapes would protect him at least, and for this he was extremely grateful. He moved forwards slowly, his footsteps echoing loudly as the sound bounced off the marble, off the glass. He stopped at a respectful distance and bowed low, in the time honoured tradition of his Japanese heritage.

'Stand,' commanded an imperious voice. Reiko did as was asked, but was careful to keep his eyes away from that of the Queen's. He prayed that the Queen would be unable to sense his nervousness, that she wouldn't be able to feel how his stomach clenched with fear. There was a pause before there was an outraged scream.

'_You!_' Reiko jumped slightly, startled. He forgot himself momentarily, staring directly into her face. He hadn't thought that the Queen would have remembered him; he had thought that he would simply be just another vampire, something that was not worth remembering. Then he remembered Lorelei and groaned inwardly. Of course…Lorelei had hurt her, he could still see the faint bruises that adorned the Queen's features. He licked at dry lips and bowed low once again, paying his respects.

'Your Majesty,' he said softly, carefully. 'I am sorry that we first met in unpleasant circumstances but I can assure you that I am unarmed and I come with nothing more than a gift. A great gift of power.'

Romana narrowed her eyes angrily. 'Get out.'

'I'm afraid I cannot do that. I cannot leave unless I get what I want, what I need. I have come here in the hopes of signing a truce, or some kind of life long alliance between my race and your race, the harpies. Enough of this shameless killing. I see no way how it is beneficial to either of us.' He paused here and looked at Romana directly in the eyes, trying to show her that he was deadly serious. Romana slowly drew herself up, her crown glinting as she moved.

'Say I agree to your stupid alliance. What's in it for us?'

'Peace.'

'Really. Because we know your type. You will go back on your truce and you will kill one of us. The peace will not last for long.'

'Are you really willing to blame an entire race of people for the mistakes of a single man? It happened God knows how long ago. Times have changed. _We_ have changed. We are more civilized. We have reforms, we have laws.'

'I am unconvinced, vampire. Get out, my temper is rising and I can't bear the shame of having vampire blood on the floor of my throne room.'

'Then maybe if I gave you the means of overpowering everyone who dare stand in your way. Maybe that will gain your attention. Maybe you'll be more convinced then.' Romana looked at Reiko with a sudden renewed interest, her eyes gleaming at this new prospect.

'Power? You can really offer us such a thing?'

'Yes, Majesty.'

'You would really be willing to offer us, your enemies, such a wondrous gift?'

'If you sign the truce with me, I will give you the power. With the truce in place we will no longer be enemies, will we?' Reiko said, hoping and praying to God that he sounded convincing, that the Queen would be swayed by his words. She shifted slightly, her eyes suddenly lighting up. Reiko recognised the look. Greed. Though the Queen tried to keep her face neutral, she was appalling from hiding her emotions from her eyes. Reiko slowly moved his hand to his pocket but paused. He could feel what he wanted under his fingertips, and the object seemed to pulse like a living thing in his hands, such was its power.

'A short time ago I fought alongside the son of Sparda, the legendary demon who fought against his own kind to save the human realm. Dante and I fought against a tyrant who went by the laughable name of Mostro. He was after a very rare and powerful crystal, one that would give him added strength, enough to take out everyone who opposed him. But the crystal was missing a single shard.

'Get to the point, vamp! I don't have all day!'

'Without the shard the crystal was incomplete and unable to function. I however, knew where the last piece was. We defeated Mostro and reclaimed the crystal as our own. I know that the harpies adore power; who doesn't? Yet I want t form a truce. If you agree to sign I will give you the crystal.' Reiko delved into his pocket and brought out the large glowing jewel, shaped like a coronet. Romana's eyes went wide at the sight of it and Reiko knew he was close to getting what he wanted.

At that point, an alarm sounded. Reiko gasped, startled as guards burst into the throne room, kicking out his legs from under him.

'Your Majesty! Vampires have invaded and are now in the building! We've been betrayed!' One of the guards bellowed. Reiko began to sit up but was quickly forced into a kneeling position. Romana stood up and gazed at the vampire, watching with satisfaction as he was trapped between two spear points.

'So you thought you could trick me, vamp! Think again! You'll be lucky if you die a quick death! Take him away!'

'I had no part in this! I will not be held responsible! You're making a gross error!' He struggled briefly, but cried out in pain as a spear was driven through his arm.

'You made the mistake by thinking you could fool us so easily.' Romana swept down from her throne and picked up the crystal. '_I'll_ be keeping this. No truce, no power. How does it feel to have lost?' She dismissed the guards and watched, a cruel smile on her face, as the vampire was dragged away. She called after them on a whim. 'Torture him. Put him in the cage, bleed him dry. Whatever you wish.' The doors slammed shut to her derisive laughter. Reiko struggled again and let out a low groan as he felt something crash upon the back of his head. The last thing he heard was the sound of the Queen's grating cackle and the sound of someone calling his name. Then he knew no more.


	25. Chapter 25

**_It's been a long long time since I have written an author's note for this story, at least it feels as though it's been a long long time. Mostly because I haven't updated this for a while. Anyway, just a note again to say thank you all very very much for all the wonderful reviews. They really make my day, more than you guys can possibly imagine. Seriously, when things get rough, I go back and read the reviews that everyone's given me. Most of the time it is more than enough to cheer me up again, to make me remember that there are actually people out there who give a damn._**

**_It is for this that I thank you all, and to remind each and every one of you who might be reading this that you all matter a great great deal to me, whether you review or whether you don't._**

**_Again, I thank you all from the deepest part of my heart._**

**_Ihope you enjoy this chapter as much as the others before it._**

**Chapter 25**

The sun began to sink in the western skies. Dante paused to take in the sight, his normally aquamarine coloured eyes darkening to become almost a navy blue as the sun cast shadows almost playfully on his face, warping his features, making them twisted and sinister in the light of the dying day. His eyes narrowed against the glare of the sun as he pursed his lips together in a frown. He was aware of something and the realization of it made him stumble slightly in the slippery surface of the frosted-over snow. He wanted to turn home before it got completely dark. This somewhat ordinary statement was something of a surprising revelation for him. He knew at once that this was not because of some random fear of the dark. No, he wanted to turn back home, back to Trish; he'd been gone long enough as it was and it was about time that he got back. Knowing her, she'd be worried half to death by now, the way she always did whenever he went on a mission without her. It was odd, at first Dante thought that Trish got worried because she had developed a crush on him. At least, that was what he had thought in the past, when she had just entered the partnership with him. Well…if it had been the case, he wouldn't have been able to blame her. He wasn't being big-headed or egotistical when he was acknowledging his looks, he was simply stating the truth, that the devil and human cocktail of blood in his veins had blessed him with the looks of an Adonis. He had thought that it would have been natural for Trish to develop a fondness for him, as most girls had done as he had grown older, but he knew that whatever feelings Trish had for him would be unable to be reciprocated. It would just be too odd, too strange. Too…_gross_. Trish was a clone of his mother and the thought of her even having feelings for him was enough to make him feel sick to the stomach. Yet his surprise had been insurmountable when Trish had shyly confessed to him that she had feelings for him, but probably not in the manner that he thought. She had feelings for him yes, but these feelings made her want to take care of him, wanted to act as a comfort for him, make sure that he was kept safe at all times. She had shyly apologized, telling him that she was sorry if her behaviour had appeared to be too clingy, too overprotective, too paranoid. In the face of her honesty, Dante had finally been able to understand Trish's reasons for her concern; she was truly a clone of his mother through and through. Not only did she resemble her looks but also her personality.

With this knowledge fresh in his mind, somehow remembered due to he sight of the sun, he licked at dry lips before looking towards the sky. He smiled as he spotted the phoenix, wheeling and soaring overhead, uttering his strange piping cries from time to time, warming him from head to toe with an intensity that was so powerful that it made him shiver with a strange type of pleasure. The phoenix slowly descended to perch on his shoulder, his wings flapping slightly, struggling to keep his balance, buffeting Dante's face by accident, causing the devil hunter to sneeze.

'It's time we went back. Tonight, we reach home.' Dante said firmly, his brow furrowed slightly, a playful smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. 'Come on. Let's go.' Dante knew that there really wasn't much of a chance that he'd reach Trish before nightfall, so he had created a new aim, that he would reach her and deliver the news of his safe return and the important announcement regarding his success on the mountain. As his eyes fell upon the phoenix he smiled. Well, that last part would be only too obvious when Trish saw the magnificent creature for herself. She'd be thrilled, and knowing her to be one who possessed an affectionate personality, as well as a fondness for children and animals of any description, excluding animalesque demons of course, unless they had proved themselves to be of a decent heart. Dante remembered a few comical situations but forced them out of his mind quickly, telling himself that now was not the time for a trip down memory lane. He began his descent once more, trying to navigate his way down carefully, trying his utmost to avoid any patches that had frozen over and had become slippery as a result. The sky was beginning to turn into a light dusky pink as Dante finally moved onto ground where the snow was beginning to thaw out, leaving only slabs of hard grey rock underneath. Dante was more than glad for the change, finding the hard stone a welcome sight after being witness to seas of endless white, where wolves ran rampant, waiting to pull down any unsuspecting traveller. Dante had survived and had even managed to destroy a fair number of the teeming pack. The thought helped to further warm him. He broke into a run, leaping from rock to rock, his coat billowing behind him in his wake, the phoenix crying out again having flown off from Dante's shoulder as soon as the demon slayer had begun to move once more. His mood appeared to be lifted by Dante's return to himself. The man was truly back in his element, and the demon hunter could feel the adrenalin pumping through him, filling him with an excitement, making him look forward to what events that could only lie ahead, not so far into the future. He felt that anything could come and try and take him on but he'd be able to deal with it easily, layout out his enemies in one swift and deadly blow.

It was these kind of thoughts that accompanied him as he finally hit the bottom of the mountains, finding himself in open countryside, in the middle of Scotland. Though it was still quite cold, Dante felt that this was nothing and was actually quite mild compared to what he himself had just gone through. It had been so cold up there that he had passed out! Well…really it was because of the wolves attacking him but Dante knew that the cold would have caused him to sooner or later. There was no point in denying it really. He passed his eyes over the surrounding countryside, taking in the frost covered grass, paralyzed by the cold, the speeding blinking lights as cars raced along the road in the distance. He could hear their far away roar, even from where he stood. He scanned the area, looking for any signs of civilians. Seeing none, he concentrated all of his energy into one single blast, feeling the power running through his body like liquid fire. It started to spread outwards to his fingers and his toes. He felt his skin change, becoming hard and like rock as his transformation began. Wings spread out on either side of his body, flapping several times as they felt the wind meet against them. Adrenalin coursed through him, making his heart swell as though it were fit to burst and he let out a huge roar as his change was completed. Throughout all this, the phoenix watched him calmly, motionlessly, his eyes fixed unwaveringly upon him, as though this was entirely expected.

The devil stood up straight and inspected his surroundings again, watching carefully, alertly for any sign of civilians, or for anyone that might spot him and run off in a mad panic, planning to tell the police. Seeing that the coast was still clear, he spread out his wings to their full span and took flight, the phoenix following him immediately, as though able to understand that this new beast was still the same man. Together they soared through the sky, their wings beating the air silently, their movements graceful and fluid. The land passed by underneath them in a blur. Dante looked below him and felt for a surreal moment that they were hovering in the same place and that it was actually the ground that was speeding by in a dark mass of trees, grass, bushes and the occasional animal. Dante knew only then that no human would be able to spot them, for they were flying at such speeds that an ordinary man would not be able to identify what exactly they were. The thought pleased him immensely but not as much as when they finally crossed the border between Scotland and England. He was close now; there was not much longer to go. If he started driving back now, from where he was, it would have taken him about six hours, but as the demon flew, he knew that it would only take him about forty-five minutes in this form, especially if he kept at the pace he was going now. He looked behind him swiftly and smiled seeing the phoenix right behind him. It appeared as though the great beautiful bird had no trouble in keeping up with him whatsoever. He grinned as he saw that his home had finally come into view and he began to slow down, gradually descending, coming to land neatly on the porch. He quickly changed into his human form and stretched out his arm, allowing the phoenix to perch there comfortably. He fumbled in his coat pocket for his keys, silently marvelling at the fact that he had not lost them in the snow and unlocked the door, allowing himself inside and finally back into the warmth, deciding that he would never take such a simple thing for granted ever again. Then he wondered privately to himself how long that would last for. Probably not even to the end of the week knowing him.

'Trish! Trish, I'm here!' he called out to the building, He was met with a grim silence. He frowned and was about to shout again when he noticed a pair of misty green eyes staring out from the kitchen door, misted over because of her unshed tears. His frowned deepened as he walked towards her, but then he was eventually able to force a smile onto his face. 'Lorelei. What's up?' The girl looked up at him silently before craning her head, as though trying to see past him, to see whether there was anything behind him. He blinked and looked over his shoulder but seeing nothing, he turned to watch her again.

'Reiko is not with you?'

'No?' Dante said slowly, looking puzzled. 'Where's Trish?' He waited and watched patiently as the girl appeared to collect herself and her thoughts together. Her shoulder shifted and she moved her head so then she was looking directly at him, into the clear depth of his aquamarine eyes.

'Trish is upstairs. Showering. Have you seen any sign of Reiko?' she asked, her voice monotone yet pained. Dante shook his head regretfully and felt even worse when her eyes darkened with misery.

'I thought you hated him…' he murmured. Lorelei looked up at him sharply, her face suddenly hard. Then her eyes cleared and her face softened slightly.

'I did, once. God…isn't it odd to think that once I had hated him with such a strong passion? Things have changed since you left for the mountains, Dante. Well, even _before_ you left if we want to be technical. He was kind to me, he listened to me and he never laughed at me, not even once. And even though I was mean and spiteful towards him he still treated me with all kinds of respect. Then I saw him cry one night and it made me realize that he is still human in nature, that he wasn't evil at all, that he wasn't a monster or a beast.'

'And then you fell in love. Should have guessed,' Dante finished for her. Lorelei looked slightly taken by surprise but then she nodded her agreement.

'He left a while ago. He wouldn't say where it was he was going. I fear only the worst, that I'm never going to see him again,' she whispered, breathless. Dante noted with a mild concern of how her face had turned pale, and of how she looked as though she were about to faint at any given moment.

'Go and get some sleep Lorelei,' came his quiet command, hoping that his words would convince her. However, his hopes were dashed when she frowned and shook her head.

'I have tried but I can't. Not until he is safe and back here, alive and in one piece.' Dante didn't have the heart to tell her that if Reiko did happen to come back in one piece, it would be nothing short of a miracle, especially with the vampire's penchant for getting himself into all kinds of trouble. Still, if she wanted to remain hopeful then that was her choice and he did not feel as though it was in his place to try and make her anything else. The phoenix suddenly gave vent to a low yet sweet melody, causing the girl's eyes to snap onto it. To Dante's relief, she smiled.

'Woe,' she gasped, reaching out automatically to stroke the long beautiful head-feathers, causing the phoenix to croon with pleasure. At that point, Trish walked down the stairs, her hair still wet from her shower and breathed in sharply as she saw the magnificent crimson bird. She no longer seemed to care about her damp hair as a wide grin pasted itself onto her face, knowing what the bird meant.

'Wow,' she whispered, sounding for all the world as though she were Lorelei's echo. 'He's gorgeous…' She looked up at the silver haired hunter, her eyes shining with wonder and excitement. 'Doesn't he remind you a lot of-'

'Yeah,' Dante cut in, his voice gruff.

'I say he looks exactly the same.'

'Maybe. I never paid much attention. But I doubt it.'

'You did it! I can't believe it! You did it! You really did it! The legend is true! Now we can go and finally get rid of that dragon!' She pulled away from him, her eyes brimming with merriment. Despite himself, Dante couldn't help but feel a grin spreading across his own features.

'I know! I just thought that the legend was a bunch of crap.'

'So did I! Just wait until we tell-'

'Rose!' Lorelei suddenly gasped. The two frowned at her before turning around, become suddenly aware of the cold blast of wind that blew against them. Rose stood in the open doorway, her hair dishevelled, hanging about her face in a wind-blown mess. Tears fell from her violet coloured eyes, streaking her face. Her eyes were wide, her mouth hung open as she gasped for breath. Dante was the first who sprang into action, pulling her to him and shutting the door.

'Rose,' he said, his voice soft. 'Rose, what is it? What's happened? Is it the dragon? Is it here?' At the mention of the beast, more tears flowed freely down her face and she began to cry hysterically. Lorelei shook her head, looking suddenly weary.

'It's not the dragon, Dante. No…It's Reiko…' she said, her voice toneless, her eyes far away and numb. Dante turned back to Rose, his hands holding her by the shoulders firmly. Rose leant into him and then nodded in confirmation.

'He's been sent to his death. He went alone into the harpies' kingdom and promised the Queen great power if she formed an alliance with him. The Queen was about to agree but then she heard news that a vampire force was launching an attack on the royal palace.'

'It was Remy,' Lorelei whispered, sounding faint. Rose paused to give her a quick look before continuing.

'The Queen thought that it was Reiko who was to blame and she had him thrown into the dungeons. She told the guards to torture him however they want. They'll _kill_ him!' Rose ended on a high hysterical note, her voice echoing throughout the room. Dante's face had turned hard, as though it were carved out of stone. Trish had turned pale.

'Shit…' she cursed and started to pace. 'We've got to help him.'

'Without him, we won't have his vampires in our army,' Dante said thoughtfully. Trish looked at him, her eyes cold, like steel.

'Is that _all_ you're worried about? He's your _friend,_ Dante!' There was an uncomfortable pause before Trish's eyes flared crimson. 'Don't tell me you're still sore about the fact that he once helped save your life!' Dante growled in reply to that before checking his items.

'Come on. Let's go.'


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Deep in the darkest dungeons, Reiko Kaneshiro lay on the cold stone ground, stripped of his weapons, his clothes torn to shreds. A pool of blood collected about his battered and broken body, which stirred slightly as the vampire began to reawaken. His hazel eyes fluttered open, his slightly parted lips closed as he struggled to sit up. He gasped and panted with pain, clutching at his side, feeling something hot, wet and sticky coating his hand. He removed his hand and looked at it, his face showing no expression as he stared at his blood-covered fingers, at his red, sticky palm.

Memories washed back into his mind, flooding him with knowledge. They had run him through several times with a sword made entirely out of silver. Nine times in total now that he thought back to it. The last time they had driven it into his gut, bringing blood flowing out of his mouth in a crimson mess. The harpy men had laughed at him as he had screamed out with agony, as white fire blinded his vision, choked his thoughts. He had become mindless with pain; he had clung onto one of the guards, his fingers becoming like claws as he screamed out over and over again, his body in excruciating anguish. The guards had told him to beg for mercy, but he had refused, his pride telling him that it was all he had left. He had suffered because of it, had suffered for the need to keep his pride and dignity intact.

He gritted his teeth, felt his fangs pressing against his bottom lip as he slowly shifted so then his back was against the wall, giving him the support he needed, helping his body to hold itself together. Already he could feel his body responding to the wounds, working on healing them. He could feel his skin mending itself, joining carefully, healing the raw bleeding wounds, where one could see his pulsing organs had they wanted to.

He coughed several times and gagged as he felt the sharp taste of fluid surge up into his mouth. He spat it out and stared at the mess through blurring vision. Blood. His own blood. Still, he was not too worried. If he was lucky he would be left alone for an hour or two and he would be able to heal his internal injuries within that time. Time. It was all just a matter of time. It would be a simple matter of time until Remy got his ass kicked. Reiko knew he'd make sure of that.

He groaned again, despair washing over him. And to think that he had been so close as to achieving his goal, that he had been so close to forming an alliance. He had failed his master, the one who ruled over all the vampires in the world. He had failed Dante, for wasn't he the main reason why he had accepted the mission that the vampire master had set out for him?

The answer was yes. They wanted to raise an army, and in order to add to their numbers, Reiko had wanted all the vampires of the world to fight under his and Dante's rule. He had failed in that aspect too. But what was perhaps the worst was the fact that he knew that he would probably never get to see Lorelei ever again. His eyes closed at the thought of her, his thoughts drifting aimlessly.

How long would it be before he was forgotten by all of them? How long would it be before Lorelei found another to claim her love for his own? He conceded sadly that it would probably be only a matter of weeks. After all, Lorelei had hated him for so long and now, when he did not return, she would have all the more reason to hate him. They'd be good reasons too and the sad part was that she would never know the truth and that she would never get to hear the reasons for why he had done what he had done.

His eyes snapped open and fixed onto the bars of his cell as he heard sounds outside. He waited, his face impassive, while wishing desperately that his eyesight would return to normal. He was able to make out the vague shape of someone's head as they entered his cell. He presumed this to be one of the guards. He watched as the guard carefully placed a bowl of something near to the door, as though he were nothing more than a dog.

Reiko looked to his legs and his eyes narrowed as they fell upon the shackles that kept him bound. His lips drew back in a silent snarl, feeling utterly humiliated, his pride taking a great blow at this great lack of respect. He found enough presence of mind to wait until the guard and all sounds had gone before he dragged himself using the strength in his arms over to investigate what had been placed before him. The smell of it invaded his senses almost immediately, making him feel weak, making his stomach hurt. He licked at dry lips as his eyes fell upon the bowl filled with blood. It was still warm; he could smell it, but he knew better than to accept anything from the hands of his enemies.

Who knew, it could literally be from the hands of his enemies and he knew that it would spell certain death if it were the case. He growled.

There was no way of knowing. The smell was not any different, and he had been warned that the taste was no different from that of a human's. He knew that he would only be able to tell once he fell sick, and by that time there would be nothing that he could do to stop death from coming to claim him fully.

Though things were desperate, he knew that he had to stay alive, that hope would die with him if he succumbed. _Who's hope though?_ he asked himself mentally. No one would know where he had gone and he knew that if anyone mourned his disappearance, they would not mourn long. He had to stay alive, he just _had_ to. He did not know _why_ exactly, but the knowledge that he had to was enough to sustain him for now.

He stared longingly at the bowl of blood that was there to at once nourish him and torment him. He decided to try and distract himself by examining the contents of his cell more closely, noting with a certain degree of relief that there were no windows; that he would be safe from the dangers of the sun. This relief was relatively short-lived as his eyes fell upon a far less pleasant sight.

Corpses. About fifty of them. He could not understand why he had not noticed it before, why he hadn't been able to notice the foul stench. Now it claimed his senses completely, rapidly doing away with any type of thought to do with finding food to keep himself well and in health. He knew he could survive for a while without anything to sustain him but he knew he would not be able to last for more than ten days. Then he noticed the other bowls that were littering the room. He dragged himself over to the nearest one to his left, stretching the chains as far as they would go. The bowl had not been emptied, but was filled with some sort of solid substance that Reiko could not identify.

He sniffed it gingerly, and the shock of realization that lanced through him was enough to make him drop the bowl out of revulsion, sending it crashing to the ground with a clatter. The bowl had been filled with blood too; it had been there for so long that it had congealed to form a solid mess. He stretched out in front of him, reaching out for the bowl that lay there, his face forming a mask of horror as he saw that the contents of that one were the same. He looked at another, and then another, and with each one his terror was further compounded. They were all the same; blood had filled all these bowls and all of them had been left untouched. He turned around desperately, his chains rattling as he moved frantically.

Were these corpses all…they couldn't be…could they? He was surprised to hear a whimpering sound echoing throughout the cell. Then he realized that the sound was actually coming from him, that he was actually capable of making such a noise. He was scared and he saw no point in denying it, especially when his worst fears were confirmed as he inched over to the heap of corpses. He studied them closely, his eyes wide with panic, his mouth open out of sheer horror, his stomach churning painfully, making him feel sick. He wished he _would _be sick, just so then he could get rid of the pain that plagued him. His eyes fell upon the open mouth of one skull, his eyes transfixed as they fell upon the teeth of the skull. _Fangs_. The skull had fangs.

Glistening, white, sharp deadly fangs. He looked hopefully at the rest of the skull but soon saw that there was no chance that the skull belonged to any type of animal. No, the skull was undeniably human, the only thing setting it apart from a normal man's were the teeth, the fangs, so dangerous even now. Some corpses were fresher, which still had flesh hanging onto their bones, still had starved expressions of terror frozen onto their faces. Reiko wept, sobs wracking his entire body, knowing now that he was doomed, so utterly doomed to become one of them as more and more of his time passed within the cell.

He gasped and tried to jump to his feet, but the manacles cut into his ankles painfully, ensuring that he could not stand. He curled up in the corner furthest away from the bars and watched fearfully as the guards came in, whips and three-pronged tridents in their hands. Reiko's eyes fell upon them and widened, their hazel colour darkening markedly, pupils contracting with terror. One of the guards motioned to the other, and an ugly smile appeared on the first's face as he came towards him.

'No…stay back!' Reiko hissed, his voice braver than how he actually felt inside. 'I warn you! Stay back! Stay back or else!'

'Or else what?' the first jeered. His eyes slid to one side, eyeing the blood that stained the stone floor. 'What are you going to do, Head Vampire? Are you going to bleed on us? Is that it? Bleed? You gonna bleed?' The second guard had paused; he had been truly intimidated by the weakened vampire. The first saw this and promptly snarled, forcing the second, the younger into movement once more. 'Get him. Get him and bring him to me.' The second obeyed but cried out and backed away as the vampire clawed at him viciously, gritting his teeth and punching, clawing, tearing at him with his bare hands, desperation driving him onto greater efforts, driving him inwards in a blind fit of crimson rage.

The younger guard was bleeding profusely by the time he managed to back away from the enraged and frightened vampire. The older growled with irritation before grabbing the other's three-pronged staff, driving it into the stone, effective pinning the vampire's right hand. Then he took his own and thrust it through the vampire's chest. While Reiko was still in shock from the blow, he quickly pulled it out and trapped Reiko's other hand between the three prongs. The second guard, seeing that the vampire was no longer able to cause harm came forwards once more, more cautious than before.

Reiko waited until he was close enough before giving vent to one last snarl, bringing together his chained legs and driving them deep into the guard's stomach and then once more several inches below, sending the younger guard reeling backwards, gasping for breath, tears coming to his eyes. The first, more experienced guard quickly jumped on top of him and sat on his legs. He leant in towards the vampire, his eyes shining malevolently.

The vampire hissed again before summoning the last of his desperate strength and bringing his head forward, head-butting him on the nose, causing a fountain of blood to gush from the guard's face. Reiko had time for a triumphant smirk and a split second of hope that they would give up, but this quickly evaporated when agony lanced through him, causing him to see stars before his eyes, blinded with pain.

If anything, it appeared as though his show of defiance had done nothing to help him but had done everything to further incense the guard, making him all the more determined to cause the vampire some form of extensive harm. A vague thought entered Reiko's head. Could hate really influence someone to go to such lengths? As pain blasted through him like a cannon once more, he knew that the answer was a resounding yes. He screamed and thrashed about madly as the guard bent his leg at a painful angle. Reiko's screams intensified, drowning out the resonating crack as the guard finally got what he wanted.

But the harpy had not stopped there, and he started bending the other leg, either ignoring Reiko's shrieks of agony or silently revelling in them as he snapped his other leg in half. By this time, Reiko's chest was heaving, red tears streaked his face and blood streamed out of his legs. He raised his head shakily and caught a fleeting glimpse of flesh and bone. He gagged, thinking he was going to be sick with pain as he lowered his head again.

'And to think he still didn't beg…' he heard a voice say. A few minutes passed before he was finally able to recognize it to be the second guard's. He heard him gasp loudly. 'Don't you think he's had enough? You just broke his legs for God's sake!' He heard the strange sound of metal rasping against metal and whimpered as the first guard touched his legs cruelly, causing him further harm. The guard seemed to be pleased by the sound and did it again and then once more for good measure, satisfied only when he heard the vampire scream chillingly.

'The git broke my nose!'

'And you broke his legs! That's fair, isn't it?' There was a silence that Reiko knew was broken only by his sobbing as he lay on the ground, helpless. He raised his head momentarily to see that the guard had freed his useless legs from the manacles. He was also just in time to watch the younger guard grow silent under the hard glare of his superior. He himself gasped as the first guard grabbed him by the shoulders roughly and wrenched the tattered remains of his shirt from his body, leaving him shivering. The guard then laughed derisively as he dangled his whip before the stricken vampire's eyes.

'See this? This ain't no ordinary whip, vamp. It's a special kind, with silver sharp edges, actually the blades of silver daggers intertwined into it. You see this water? It's special too. It's holy. Holy Water. So, what do you think will happen when we dip this silver studded whip into holy water and lay into you?' Reiko's eyes widened with realization and understanding. 'You thought you were in pain when I broke your legs. Vamp, you don't know the meaning of pain!'

As he watched the harpy dip the whip slowly into the water, an image of his mother floated into his mind's eye. His face crumpled; he wanted to cry again, and he gave vent to an inarticulate sound, unable to express fully his desire to be held by her one last time. The sound died, leaving his lips to work silently as he mouthed her name for what he believed was the last time. His eyes closed tightly.

There was a resounding crack, like the noise of thunder roasting something alive. For a second, Reiko didn't feel anything. Then his body was contorting and twisting, his face was a mask of open frenzied shock. A loud piercing wail shook the rafters and it was a while before Reiko finally was able to realize that the sound was coming out of his own mouth. The blows continued to rain down upon him and his wail died away to a choking rasp, as blood welled into his mouth and out onto the floor.

Blood rained from his body and onto the walls as the guard continued his brutal assault. The second merely stood in the background, watching silently, his eyes wide. Eventually, there was no longer a part of the vampire that wasn't covered in blood. Only then did the guard stop, triumph pasted onto his evil, twisted face.

This respite was short-lived, and Reiko whimpered again, his face distorting as the guard rolled him onto his belly, an expression of disgust written only too clearly in his eyes at the fact that he had to touch the vampire in the first place. Then the process continued again, Reiko's howls echoing throughout the dungeon, a lesson to the other prisoners.

The vampire no longer had the energy to cry, no longer had the strength to resist. His strength was shattered into meaningless pieces. To his eyes, the whole world seemed as though it had been dyed crimson; blood was everywhere. He could imagine blood seeping out in an unstoppable flood from his every pore.

He could feel the acrid taste upon his mouth, he knew it was escaping his body even from there. He felt dizzy, weak, sick. He closed his eyes, praying that the darkness would take him, and allow him to leave this aching world for ever. Yet it seemed that fate was willing to deny him even this.

The harpy grabbed him by the hair and lifted his head up painfully. The vampire's lips drew back in a silent grimace and his eyes fluttered open, coming to rest on the grotesque corpses that lay before him.

'See these? See what happened to them? They're all your people, aren't they? They all died by my hand. And so will you. You've been the most fun I've had for a long long while. I might consider keeping you around for a lot longer than I kept them for.' As the guard stalked out of the cell, he laughed. 'I'm talking years, Vamp! _Years_!' His footsteps became gradually more distant, so then they become nothing. The second, younger guard still had not left the room and now walked towards the stricken vampire, sorrow shining in his eyes as he knelt down beside him.

'I'm sorry…I'm so sorry that I could not help you…especially after the way you treated my daughter. Here…' The harpy carefully tried to help the vampire to a sitting position but was forced to stop as the vampire gave vent to another blood-curdling cry.

'Stop…no more…please…no more…' Desperation fuelled the vamp, giving him the strength he needed to speak. His eyes were wide and almost unseeing, they rolled wildly as he croaked out his plea, as he broke down completely. He sobbed hoarsely from the pain, horrid gasping noises escaping from him. He was past shame, he was past it all. 'Haven't you guys had enough? Haven't you guys…haven't you…_seen_ enough?' He struggled to raise his head to stare at the guard. 'You wanted to see me beg and plead…here I am…please…leave me the hell alone! I can't take anymore of this!' The harpy was silent in the face of Reiko's tears. 'You have beaten me, stabbed me, drained me, starved me…now you break my legs, and whip me…what is next? Tell me! _What is next_?' The harpy bit down on his bottom lip, truly convinced that the vampire's mind had been utterly broken as he broke down into enraged sobbing. 'Tell me, am I to be burnt to ash next? Will you tie me and lock me in a room with a window, throw away the key and watch as I slowly die?' His words gave way, and the vampire lowered his head with a thud, giving vent to a cry that did not sound anything remotely like a human. It was more like a wordless dirge yet the harpy knew somehow what it represented, and the hurt of it made its mark deep within him.

He was glad that his companion had not been there to hear the vampire; had he heard the suggestion he might have actually gone through with it. The guard silently used his power to heal the suffering vampire and then walked over to the bowl filled with blood and sniffed it, unsure as to whether it was poisoned or not. He decided that it would be best not to tempt the vampire and threw it outside in the drain, putting the bowl back in the cell afterwards. Casting another look at the felled vampire, he shook his head regretfully and left him to finally rest, watching the vampire turn completely limp as he gave himself up to the darkness that beckoned.


	27. Chapter 27

**Chapter 27**

The vampire woke up a long while later, to find that the pain had all but disappeared. He turned to look at his legs and found to his astonishment that they had been healed. He frowned. Did his own blood heal him? Then a vague vision of a harpy's face, the face of the younger, less experienced guard came floating into his mind. He knew with a sudden burst of clarity that this man was the one who had helped him, that had shown him pity and had eased his suffering. Then he remembered how he had broken down and begged for it all to stop. He winced with disgust at his actions. Well, at least he hadn't done that in the face of his main antagonist.

He sighed before his eyes fell on one of the skulls from his dead companions. Was he _really_ doomed to become one of them? Was he really destined to die in here as they had done before him? Then he remembered that a part of him had already died when he had realized he'd never see Lorelei again.

No, no, _no._ He had to stay alive. Because he _would_ find a way to get out of here, and when he did he would return to her, regardless of whether she had met someone new or not. He would tell her truth, about what had happened, why he hadn't come back. Then she would go back to him, because she had never stopped loving him…

Oh…what the _hell_ was he thinking? Like that was _ever_ going to happen. Lorelei had dragged him to see one romantic movie too many. This was real life, this was no movie. How pathetic he was, to think that he would ever be capable of doing something like that in the first place…He knew that if Lorelei _had_ found someone new, and if she was utterly besotted and in that blissful bubble that only contained happiness, then he would never be the type to intentionally break it.

So why did he have to stay alive then? If it wasn't for Lorelei than who? His mind began to whirl round and round and Reiko had the distinct feeling that he had gone over this path before in his head, the night before. He was losing it, he was sure he was losing it, that his mind was slipping from him, fleeing from him as fast as it could.

But he had to think this again, he had to remind himself. He had to. It was all he had left. Without Lorelei, it felt as though he had lost all meaning to his life. Well, that wasn't entirely true. He _did_ have the guild to look after too. That didn't really count for much anymore, especially when it seemed as though they no longer followed his orders.

Well, Remy certainly didn't. If it wasn't for him, he would still have been running free; he would have had the alliance by this time. His mission would have been completed and he would simply have had to pass the news to the Vampire Master. He growled with anger as he thought of his friend. He'd make sure the little bastard suffered for this. Though he wasn't too big on torture, especially after this. Maybe he'd just demote him, make him the lowest of the low and ignore him pointedly as he went about guild business. That'd teach him! So, he had to live so then he could punish Remy for his disobedience.

But revenge was one of the worst reasons for continuing the struggle to live. He'd learnt that after battling Mostro, just before fighting Vergil. Though revenge was certainly one incentive, he knew that it could not act as the sole reason. Then he knew. Dante. He needed to keep his head, he needed to stay alive because of him. Why? His mind turned blank before it reached an answer. Reiko cursed. It shouldn't have done that, it shouldn't have hesitated. What was happening to him?

He owed Dante one, that was why he needed to keep living. He had helped him defeat Mostro, he had helped him gain the revenge that he had so desperately wanted. He had threatened his life several times, sure, but that was beside the point. Though even now Dante still didn't seem to like him as much as the others, Reiko knew it made no difference to the fact that he owed him.

He also owed his parents. They had been human, they were once part of mankind. And now the rest of their kind was being threatened by the demonic army that was slowly but surely being gathered. He had to stay alive so then he could…fight…

His eyes fell upon the bowl that had been set out for him and he got to his feet, crying out in pain as his legs collapsed under his weight.

Okay, this didn't look good. Not good at all. Though his legs were healed, they were still too weak to support him. He knew that this would not have been the case had he only been able to drink some blood. His eyes fell upon the corpses again and then to the dishes that were scattered about the cell, the blood that had rested there for so long.

Something clicked within his mind. Those vampires had all died due to starvation, not because of the torture. But how could he be sure? He turned again to look at his dead companions. Some of the bodies were still so fresh that they had not yet turned to ash, and others had bones remaining. The skeletons that were there must have been hybrids in that case, and the skull he had been faced with had been part-vampire. It was the only explanation he could come up with and it seemed entirely plausible. His eyes turned once more to the blood.

What if the vampires had all been wrong? What if the blood _wasn't_ poisoned? The number of bowls were the same as the number of corpses and not a single one of them had been drained. He had to take his chance. He simple _had_ to. He crawled painfully, his legs dragging uselessly behind him, to the dish that had been laid out for him and reached out for it with a trembling hand. He blinked and tried to steady it, not wanting to a spill a drop of the precious life-giving fluid.

He reached out once more and lifted it up, frowning as he felt the lightness of the wooden bowl. He pulled himself up to a sitting position, panting from exertion, his eyes closing momentarily, his face contorting in agony as he pulled his stiff, pained legs under him. Finally, he brought the bowl towards him and looked down at the contents. His face filling with dismay as he saw that there _were_ no contents. The bowl was completely empty.

On a sudden whim, he brought the edge to his mouth and tilted his head back and was rewarded by a single droplet splashing against his lips. He licked at them and swallowed hard, savouring the brief taste, wishing that he had more. Still, that one drop had been better than nothing and he had to be content with it. Now all he had to do was wait a while and bide his time. Sooner or later, he'd find the opportunity to escape.

At that point he felt his body become tense with a sudden fear. Noises were coming from outside his cell. His fear was compounded further when he saw the younger guard enter. His eyes narrowed immediately with distrust as the guard smiled gently at him and began to walk towards him. The vampire snarled like a wild beast, warningly, as he crouched in the corner of his prison. The guard's face fell at the vampire's reaction and he slowly lowered his weapon and placed it on the ground. He slowly came towards the prisoner, his hands outstretched, like how one might approach a bad tempered dog. Reiko's eyes further narrowed.

'I am no animal,' he said softly, his tone measured, resounding with a strange type of strength and authority that he felt he did not really possess anymore. 'There is no need to treat me like some sort of mule, even if you _did_ whip me, like how one whips a donkey that can no longer walk.' The guard looked mollified at these words and started apologizing immediately, taking the hazel-eyed vampire completely by surprise.

'I'm sorry…really I am…it's just that…I've never met many vampires…and all the ones that I have met before were always brutal…and animalistic.'

'Because they were fearing for their lives, just as I am, even at this moment.'

'You have nothing to fear from me. I just wish I could have stopped the other, really I do.' The harpy's violet eyes bored into him and the vampire frowned, feeling as though he had seen such eyes before. Then the corners of his mouth quirked upwards slightly.

'What's your name?' he asked, his voice still soft. The harpy blinked, astonished, before offering a tentative smile.

'Jay. I know your name already.'

'I assume your sister spoke of me.'

'You…what?' Jay took a step away from the vampire, confused and feeling suddenly scared, irrational though it was. Reiko smiled and leaned back, resting his head against the wall, closing his eyes.

'Rose is safe. She has been granted safety from my people. All of you have been for that matter. I gave my clan express orders not to attack any harpy they come across, not even if the harpy attacks them.'

'Rose mentioned it to me…I thought she was mad. But seeing you here before me now? I know now that she was speaking only the truth.'

'I'm not much given to telling falsehoods.'

'I can see that now. My sister was telling nothing but the truth. And if I remember correctly, that means that you saved her. Just as you were kind to my daughter when she hurt herself after bumping into you. You gave her some chewing gum, remember?'

'Ah yes. Her.' A slow smile spread itself across the vampire's face and Jay noted with some alarm of how jaded the vampire looked. Imprisonment was breaking his spirit, he was so close to breaking entirely, no matter how much the vampire railed and fought against it. 'How is she?'

'Dana is fine. She's pleased with her little present. Says it might be simple but it was a present all the same,' Jay said, trying to clear the vampire's gloom. Reiko gave vent to a soft, tired laugh. 'She keeps asking over you. She keeps asking where "Mr. Vampy" went.' The vampire's face darkened and he sighed.

'What will you tell her?'

'I don't know. I hope she doesn't ask again.'

'Tell her the truth. That the nice vampire who was kind to her has been condemned to death, because that's the way you people treat hospitality. I offer your Queen a gift of great power and because of the follies of another I am the one who is to die.' Reiko's eyes had narrowed with anger at the injustice of it all. His earlier optimism had died and had given away to a darker mood. He had been on an emotional tightrope before, and he had fallen. 'Then you can tell her that the vampire was a bad man, just like how all vampires are. And then you will train her and teach her the best ways, the fastest ways to kill a vampire. You'll teach her how to recognise us. You'll turn her into a killer, a persecutor of my kind.'

'Reiko…'

'I can't take this anymore!' The vampire's eyes were rapidly welling up with tears, much to the harpy's distress.

'I can't free you, Reiko. They'd find out that it was me and I'd be beheaded. I love Dana too much to allow myself to be killed. I'm all she has left. But…is there anything I can do to make this any easier for you?' This appeared to be the wrong thing to say. Reiko lowered his head onto his knees, hugging them to him so then Jay couldn't see his face as he started to cry.

'No…no…' he lamented brokenly. 'No…there is nothing…' He looked up, shaking with emotion. 'But if you see your sister, please ask her to tell Lorelei the truth, about what happened.' He swallowed hard, trying to regain his composure. 'Please…' Jay nodded silently and was about to say something when Reiko continued. 'If they ask…tell her…tell her that it was a quick death, painless. Tell her there…was…was no suffering.' The vampire's speech was broken by incoherent sobbing as his mind splintered into more and more fragments. 'But…but most of all…tell…tell her to tell Lorelei…that I love her.' There was a silence between the two of them, broken only by the sound of the vampire's sorrow. Jay sighed shakily and then nodded, feeling as though his heart was breaking as he watched the vampire suffer.

'You know…you'll find a way out somehow…sometime…'

'Before you…came in here…I…I thought so too…now I am…I am not…not so sure. I will never see her again…my hope…it's…it's like a question…that can't be remembered…it comes and goes…'

'Reiko…' Jay whispered, trying to calm him, trying desperately to console him.

'Just go…just go, please…you can't help me…no one can.'

'I promise you. I _will_ find a way!' Jay cried. The vampire simply continued to sob into his knees. Not sure whether the vampire had heard him, he ran from the cell, locking it closed behind him, not seeing as Reiko slowly raised his head to watch him go.

The vampire gasped, groaning in pain and retching, as a thunderbolt of agony raced through him, forcing his vision to become suddenly blurred, sending his head spinning. He groaned and sank to the ground, falling onto his side. Soon, the moment had passed and he felt well enough to sit up.

He frowned. What had that been all about?

Hours passed and then, finally, he heard the sound of a key being turned in the lock. He growled softly and turned his head towards the door, his eyes widening as the older guard came into the cell, a whip in his hand. Reiko felt his heart plummet to his feet. He tried to rise, so then he could flee but he was still too weak. He struggled madly as the guard grabbed him roughly and dragged him out of the cell, half pulling him, half carrying him. The vampire wriggled and fought as best as he could before a sickening pain pounded through his head, causing dark spots to scud across his vision. The guard also seemed to notice something was amiss, but it only caused him to laugh.

'What's wrong, vampire? Can't fight anymore?' The harpy shook Reiko about like a rag-doll, and he could only moan his protest, no longer being able to find the strength to form words. Then the pain passed, giving back his power. He snarled before sinking his fangs into his assailant's hand. The harpy cried out with pain and anger before pulling his hand away, punching him in the stomach, making him fall to the floor, a crumpled heap.

The vampire's eyes snapped open as the harpy dragged his head off the ground by the hair, wrenching it painfully. He could only cry out with pain as the harpy punched and kicked him over and over again, blood splattering from his mouth in a messy spray.

'You'll pay for that! Oh God you are going to pay for biting me!' Reiko made sure to spit out any blood that may have entered his mouth, whether harpy or his own. He wiped his lips on the back of his arm and felt his fangs, until they were cleansed of blood. Even in his weakened state, he had not forgotten the dangers that harpy blood had for him.

The harpy had watched all this with a cold calculating look on his face and swept out, leaving Reiko with a faint glimmer of hope that maybe it had all come to an end, that maybe he was just going to end his life then and there instead of drawing out his anguish.

He watched eagerly as the harpy returned and searched with his eyes for the weapon that would kill him. How would it be? Would it be something quick? Oh God let it be something quick! Then his dismay was complete as he realized that the harpy was holding no such thing. No dagger, no sword, no axe, nothing. He licked at dry lips and tried to back away as his eyes fell upon the pliers. That couldn't be good…

---

Blood streamed out of his mouth in a seemingly unending flood as the guard dragged him into the cell.

'Let's see you try and bite me now, Vamp,' came the derisive laugh. Reiko said nothing, his eyes darkened with pain, glazed over with unshed tears. 'Just think. Your fangs will regenerate, and I can do this again and again, as many times as I want, and you won't be able to do a damned thing about it.' Reiko's gaze shifted slowly, to stare at the bloody pliers that the guard still held. He opened his mouth, coughed up more fluid before croaking something inarticulate. The guard grinned and strode towards him.

'Hey? What's that? You want more pain? Is that it, you sick little shit?' Reiko's eyes stared up at him, panicked. The harpy laughed again seeing the look in the stricken vampire's eyes and shook his head. 'You _are_ a lot of fun you know. It's a shame really, that you had to be a male. But still…' The guard readied his whip but frowned as the vampire started heaving, vomiting out yet more blood before rolling away, sobbing with pain as his hands flew to each side of his head. The harpy watched him closely before a slow smile crossed his face.

'I don't have to do a damned thing.' He laughed again. 'I just have to wait.' Reiko couldn't listen to the sound of his voice; roaring had already filled his ears, blood had filled his vision and with a breathy sigh, he sank into merciful darkness.


	28. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28**

Rose, Dante and Trish ran on through the night, unaware of the fact that they were being followed. Lorelei had found it oddly easy to follow them, all her heart set entirely on trying to help Reiko somehow, or at least making sure that he spent his last moments with her, knowing that she loved him and would never forget him. She had waited for about thirty seconds before speeding out of the doorway after them. She felt as though she were flying; she was all but certain that her feet had never carried her so far so fast. What was more was the fact that she was so suddenly, painfully aware that she was moving quietly, with all the silence that she had seen Reiko use so many times unconsciously as he walked about his home, as he had walked the streets with her at his side. People had stopped to turn and stare as the two had walked, at the man who walked with supernatural grace. Now she was aware that she was trying to mimic his movements and was doing a damned good job of it too, moving as soundlessly as he had done before. It was in this way that she was able to track down the other three. And each step she took only seemed to strengthen her and make her resolve all the more powerful. Each step she took brought her fresh knowledge that she was coming closer and closer to Reiko with every passing second.

Several times, one of the three friends – well, she supposed it would be a great injustice to them to call them anything else – would pause and turn their heads. When this happened she would quickly duck behind a wall or crouch behind a bin, glad that she had her long hair tied back, that it would not betray her presence by allowing the wind to blow through it. She knew that their eyesight was sharp; a single strand of hair blowing in the wind would not be lost upon them. If their vision was heightened then it would be only logical that their hearing was also keener than that of an average human being. So it was that she took to holding her breath too whenever she went into one of her brief periods of hiding. She would wait for no more than ten seconds whenever this happened. To an ordinary person this might have seemed as though this was a small amount of time but once she had made the mistake of waiting for about half a minute before venturing out. She had almost lost them and had almost blown her chances of seeing Reiko again because of it.

Ten seconds proved to be more than enough. The harpy and the two hybrids were furtive in their movements, quick and never staying in one place for too long. Any longer and she'd run the risk of not being able to keep up with them. As the journey wore on, Lorelei became more and more thankful for her strict upbringing, not because she thought it was best for her, oh no; she still hated her mother for being unable to treat her as an adult, but because of the fact that it had honed her skills of stealth, allowing her to seem unobtrusive as was possible.

At that point, Dante came to a pause again and looked over his shoulder only to be greeted by an empty street. Lorelei had anticipated the action and had promptly melted into the darkness. He seemed to stare directly towards her before shaking his head as though in bemusement before turning back to face the front. Lorelei came out of hiding, clutching her long black coat about her, sneaking a little bit closer.

She had come so far with them, and she was not going to turn back now.

---

'Is she still behind us?' Trish whispered out of the corner of her mouth.

'Yeah…you have to admit, she's got some guts,' Dante muttered. Rose simply rolled her eyes.

'If you ask me, she's foolish.' Rose stole a quick look behind her and then frowned. 'I can't see her anymore. We must have left her behind. She must have turned back.' Dante took the opportunity to scan the area behind him.

'Hm…that's odd. I could have sworn I saw her a moment ago.'

'You can't see her?' This came from Trish, who looked anxious as she hissed under her breath. The red-clad demon slayer shook his head, frowning.

'Not any more.'

'In that case, Rose must be right. She must have turned back to go home.'

'Will you two shut up?' The harpy in question snapped suddenly, her intense violet eyes narrowing and darkening.

'Jeez…' Trish grumbled. 'You weren't kidding when you said you lot were temperamental. One minute you act all calm and collected, almost like Dante, the next you're all weepy and emotional and scared and the next you're pissy. What crawled up _your_ ass and died?' Rose seemed to think that Trish's question was so below her that it was not worth the time or the effort to dignify with an answer. Instead, she merely walked right past her, ignored her completely and looked to Dante expectantly.

'Did you hear that?'

'Hear what?' came the ready reply.

'Something…while Trish was talking?'

'Yeah…like a low groan, right?'

'Right. It was definitely male. I think it came from somewhere in that direction.' Rose made a wide gesture. Dante raised his eyebrows and frowned slightly, his brow creasing. The phoenix let out a low questioning cry, as though reflecting Dante's current frame of mind.

'Do you want me to take care of it? Do you want me to check it out?' He watched as Rose shook her head.

'No…I think I've got it covered.' Rose stalked forward as she talked, her movements cat-like, filled with an infinite grace. She disappeared momentarily as she crept around the corner. There was a silence for a brief minute before the sounds of scuffling reached the hybrids' ears, causing them to look at each other in alarm before they ran forward to investigate. As they rounded the corner, they heard another low pained moan. They both stopped as they bore witness to the scene in front of them.

Rose towered over a male vampire, her eyes narrowed, her body trembling with rage. Trish took a moment to recognize the vampire before her face darkened. She stormed over to him and hauled him to his feet.

'_You_!' she spat. 'What the _hell_ were you thinking?' she screeched at him, her voice reminiscent of a banshee. Dante looked about warily. If they had been hoping to approach the castle stealthily, then they had just blown their cover, thanks to Trish. Remy quailed under Trish's wrathful glare and stammered out something that sounded vaguely like an apology, but Trish was having none of it. 'Of all the _idiotic_ stupid things to _do_!'

'Since when did you think you were allowed to disobey your master?' Rose picked up where Trish had left off, her eyes wild with anger even though she was somehow able to keep her voice under control. Dante sighed and then stepped forward. The two women looked at each other gleefully, knowing that if there was one person who was good at bitching people out, it was him. They immediately made way for him and stood on either side of him, waiting eagerly for Dante to begin his tirade.

'Remy, right?' Dante spoke finally, his voice low and even. The vampire nodded and watched him cautiously before letting a tiny glimmer of hope enter his heart. Dante sounded reasonable enough; he wasn't shouting and that _had_ to be a good sign.

'Yes. I'm Remy.'

'Yeah…thought as much. Never did like you. You were all but useless when you tried to fight against Vergil with us.'

'I _did_ try my best,' Remy growled defensively.

'Like you tried your best _now_?' Remy was silent. 'because of your actions this time, Reiko's been thrown into the dungeons. He was just about to clinch the deal when you messed it up.'

'How was I meant to know?'

'Well, did Reiko give you orders to launch a full-scale attack while he was still inside the palace?' Remy said nothing. 'Well…did he?'

'He said that I was to be left in charge of the guild.'

'I'm sure that's his mistake. I wouldn't have left you to be in charge of _shit_. Still, it's one of his _only _mistakes so I guess he can be excused.' Dante sighed, looking to the girls, who nodded agreement eagerly. Remy's face had become tight with anger and his eyes flashed dangerously as Dante continued. 'You were left in charge of the guild. I'm sure he was talking about guild matters and holding meetings and stuff. Not waging war.'

'Didn't Reiko give everyone orders, including you, before all this happened?' Rose said at this point, eyes glinting. Vampires had begun to appear here and there, more and more gathering as they were attracted to the noise. They stood silent and still, their eyes fixed upon the three friends and the "leader" of the clan. Dante raised his eyes and made a point of looking at them all, showing them that he was all too aware that they were standing around them in a circle. But the rest of the vampires seemed to have better memories than the one that cowered before him now; they all seemed to remember Dante and Trish as friends of their true leader. As for Rose, no one dared to make a move against her.

'So Remy, did Reiko give you any prior orders that you had to follow?' Trish asked, reiterating Rose's question. Remy drew back his lips in a fanged snarl, reminding Dante vividly of a cornered fox. The vampire looked all about him as though searching for an escape route but came face to face with yet more vampires, all who stared at him emotionlessly, some of them bruised and others still bleeding. None of them seemed willing to clear a path for him and so it was that Remy found himself trapped.

'Oh come on Remy,' Dante said at this point, his tone one that was willing to trick him into believing he could confide in him. 'Surely the question isn't _that _difficult, is it? All you have to do is answer yes, or no. Simple, don't you think?'

'I can tell you.'

'Yes, we can tell you.' Dante turned around to look at the two vampires that had spoken. They were both quite lean with a freshness about their faces which suggested that they had been vampires for less than a year. Remy glared towards them and hissed warningly but the male seemed to take no notice. The girl however, tossed her head and mirrored his angry gaze. Dante nodded towards Trish, signalling for her to continue.

'All right. Step forward.' They did so immediately and vampires replaced their positions in the circle, closing it once more. 'What are your names?'

'Asrun.'

'Lily.' The two hung close together, Asrun's face stern. He reached for Lily's hand and held it tightly, watching the harpy, the slayers, the vampire warily, as though unable to trust any of them. Lily didn't seem to feel quite as threatened and watched unblinkingly as Trish stepped forward with them and spoke out loudly, her voice clear.

'Asrun and Lily are going to answer for us the question that Remy seemed unable to answer. Whether he was merely unwilling or whether he actually lacked the intelligence to answer is still something of a mystery.'

'Asrun, Lily,' Rose addressed the two young vampires, a gentle smile on her face. 'Please tell us. Were there any orders that you were given to follow?'

'Yes,' Asrun answered at once, his face hardening. 'We were told to behave as friends to the harpies. We were told never to attack them, never to threaten them or make them fear that they would be harmed. We were told that any who disobeyed these orders would be dealt with accordingly.' Remy gulped and licked at dry lips, his eyes widening. Dante gave Rose and Trish a quick look but had no time to say anything else as another vampire stepped forward into the centre of the circle. Rose recognized her instantly, she was one of the vampires who had been there when she had met Remy for the first time. The vampire cleared her throat and nervously spoke.

'When I met the harpy before…well...Remy was with me. One of our number said that we should have killed her. Remy ordered his death immediately. A hum of whispering broke out as she said her piece. Dante knew exactly what it was they were whispering about. Trish began to speak.

'You were given an order by Reiko Kaneshiro and it is obvious that you were expected to follow it, especially considering that one vampire who failed to follow the rules was put to death. I assume Reiko also expects you to follow all of his other orders as well, right?' Trish watched and listened as a general noise of assent sounded and as vampires nodded. She turned to look at the miscreant. 'Remy, am I right?' The vampire nodded mutely. 'I can't hear you.'

'Yes…you're right…'

'I see. So why did you decide that it would now be _safe_ to break those rules?'

'You're not being _fair_!'

'He gave you orders to stay put! He told us that no one was to follow him!' Lily piped up.

'You broke those rules too,' Asrun murmured, his voice low. Remy looked as though he were about to cry. A memory sprang unbidden to Rose's mind. Remy had escorted her back to Devil May Cry, had clasped her hand between his own and had asked over Reiko, whether she had seen him or not. The look in his eyes had been something alien and yet familiar and she remembered that she had been unsettled by it. An image of Lorelei sprang to her mind, the same light shining brightly in her eyes. Rose gasped, suddenly understanding everything, suddenly knowing why Remy had committed these "crimes". He had sincerely thought that Reiko was going to die and he had broken the rules, every single one of them, just so then he could have tried to save him. This was nothing about power going to his head. She bit her lip and then looked to Dante and Trish, wondering whether they realized the truth about Remy and his feelings for Reiko. But it seemed that they were clueless. She paused and frowned…it was so odd really…how that memory had come back to her…she shook her head and then tuned in to what was being said.

'We should put him to death!' cried one vampire.

'Yes! Burn the traitor! Burn him!'

'No! Starve him! Make him _truly_ suffer!'

'He has disobeyed our master! He is a pretender to our master's position!'

'Kill him!'

'_SILENCE_!' A dead hush fell upon them all. Rose felt her skin prickle with discomfort as she became aware of how everybody's eyes were upon her, watching her unwaveringly, attentively, expectantly. She licked at her lips before pursing them together, looking towards Dante and Trish for support and guidance. Trish looked nonplussed but Dante, who seemed at that moment to be much older and much wiser than what he really was slowly inclined his head, the simple movement seeming somehow majestic. It momentarily took her breath away, freezing her. She was about to speak when she was rudely interrupted.

'Why do we become silent when it is a _harpy_ that commands us to?' cried one voice loudly.

'Shut up.' Dante's voice had not risen above it's normal level, yet his voice seemed stronger and not his own. Trish caught the stunned look in Rose's eyes and smiled before whispering to her.

'He is truly his father's son.' The vampire that had spoken out had turned immediately silent as Dante continued, not seeming to have heard Trish's proud comment.

'This honoured friend of your master wishes to speak. I'm sure you all remember me and I'm pretty sure you all know what Reiko addressed me as.'

'The son of the Legendary Dark Knight Sparda…Dante…' whispered Asrun, his eyes wide, his voice an awed whisper.

'You heard the kid. Rose is going to talk and if you've got a problem with that, you're going to have to answer to me.' He took a few paces back before nodding curtly towards the harpy. 'They're all yours.' She smiled her thanks before clearing her throat again in readiness.

'I think it is best if we do not decide on Remy's fate at this moment of time. There has been enough bloodshed on this night. I do not know how many of your number have been lost but I can see by the amount of ash on the ground that it's certainly been cut down, that the numbers have been diminished somewhat. Let us spare Remy's life. More blood does not need to be spilt tonight. Besides, it is not in our place. There is only one who can decide the fate of this vampire and he is not with us. He is in there, in that palace, locked somewhere in those dungeons. You are all as much to blame as is Remy. Just because he commanded you, it did not mean that you should have automatically followed. You all should have known that Remy's actions were in direct contradiction to your master's laws and you should have corrected him, not follow him blindly. Thus, let it be said that his life is pardoned.' There was a stunned silence before Asrun bowed his head in agreement, Lily following suit along with the rest of the vampires. Dante smiled and decided that now was the time to clear things up.

'Go home, back to the guild and stay put until further orders are given to you. You've tried force and that didn't work. Now it's time to try another method. We'll take care of things here. And _you_,' he dropped his tone as he passed Remy. 'You better just go back to Devil May Cry and _pray_ that Reiko comes back alive and well. Because if he doesn't, I'm not going to be happy and you're the one who's going to pay for it!'

---

Lorelei breathed out a sigh of relief as she watched the vampires disperse, melting away into the shadows as they drifted back towards their guild in twos and threes. She was happy to see that the thin wiry vampire had gone unscathed, even though he had been threatened and had nearly lost his life as a result. It was true that while she wasn't able to hear very much of what was said, the facial expressions of those involved told her what she needed to know. Besides, for some strange reason she had known, just _known_ somehow that everything would somehow be all right. She just wished that she would be able to say the same for Reiko, that she wished she knew whether she was ever going to see him alive again.

She watched through narrowed eyes as the three continued on their way, Rose in the lead, guiding them down steep stone steps, forcing them up hills and through narrow alleyways until they finally reached the old building. Lorelei looked up at it and stifled a gasp. Her first thought was that it was truly an example of architecture that would have appealed to Reiko instantly. She looked to her side, as though about to ask him what she thought when she remembered that he was not beside her. A pang of loss made itself felt in the pit of her stomach. Loving him was like having a limb amputated; though it was no longer there one kept imagining that it was. So it was with her in relation to Reiko. She shook her head slightly, as though this would help to clear her thoughts and then continued after the trio of rescuers, careful not to trip over any loose stones or any cracks in the pavement.

---

'Woah…' Trish gasped, staring up at the palace. Dante snorted, clearly unmoved.

'Somehow I was more impressed when I looked at Mundus for the first time and saw that the Prince of Darkness was wearing a loincloth and that was all.'

'Actually, I've seen you the most impressed by that crappy little bi-plane,' Trish said with a giggle. Dante's eyes misted over nostalgically.

'Man…driving that baby was like a _dream_!' he sighed. Rose blinked and frowned, confused.

'He can fly planes?'

'Well…he _thinks_ he can but between you and me he was utter shit.'

'Hey!'

'Well it's _true_! Your brother was the one who was the real flier you know. He was the one who built that plane from scratch when he was bored in the castle.'

'Really?'

'Yep. And you crashed it when you tried to land the damned thing!'

'…shit.'

'Indeed.'

'Don't you think we're getting a bit off-topic?' Dante said hastily, quickly looking back towards the building. Rose looked confused and Trish could only grin. 'I mean, how the hell are we meant to get _in _that place? We can't just walk on in there!'

'Yes we can,' Rose said, her tone one of surprise. Dante rolled his eyes and glared at her.

'If you hadn't noticed, the palace has just been attacked. They're not just going to let anybody walk in there you know.'

'No, but you have a harpy escort with you. Or rather, we will soon.'

'You mean,' came Trish's uncertain voice, '_you're_ not going to act as our escort?'

'No. I'm sure I've been spotted hanging about with Reiko several times by now. They probably wouldn't trust me.' She reached out at this point and stroked the phoenix's head-feathers, a serene smile crossing her face as the bird sang it's beautiful melody. 'While we wait, what's his name?' Dante blinked in the face of this question.

'I don't think he even has one. At least, Jean never said anything about it.'

'Jean?'

'The angel on the mountain who helped me out.'

'Why don't you give him a name in the meantime?' Rose suggested, her eyes still fixed on the magnificent bird.

'Inferno.' Trish answered immediately, her face set. Dante frowned and looked towards her.

'Trish…'

'I'm going to call him Inferno. Okay?' Aquamarine met turquoise in a silent battle of will. Dante sighed and shook his head regretfully.

'Fine…do whatever you want…'

'I will do.' There was an uncomfortable silence between them all. Rose fidgeted nervously before looking up, her smile returning to her face.

'Jay!' Trish and Dante also looked up to see a male harpy float down to greet them. His face was anxious, his eyes shone with worry.

'Please tell me that you're here to free him!' he whispered, his voice an echo of some horror that the three could only guess at. Rose nodded, her face grave.

'Yes, if he's still alive.'

'He is…for _now_ anyway. I really don't know for how much longer he can hold on though. What are you going to do? How are you going to break him out?'

'Break him out? No, we're not going to be doing anything that's even vaguely illegal.'

'So what are you going to do then?'

'We're going to go to Her Majesty and beg for her grace. We're going to go about this properly. Hopefully, if this goes to plan, Reiko will be set free, we'll have an alliance in place and I'll probably be sent back into favour for not acting like how a heathen would. The Queen is impressed by little gestures like that. She'll put me back in favour simply because I went to her first.' She watched her brother, who nodded'Please…_please_ do whatever you can for him. He was kind to my daughter. He was also kind to our cousins, the ones that brought him here in the first place. He was bruised when he first walked in here but they were totally unharmed.'

'I'll do what I can. Now if you please, take us to the Queen. The quicker I get this done the better it will be for Reiko.'

'Follow me.' Jay started walking immediately, the three close on his heels, Rose's face impassive, Dante and Trish giving each other significant looks. It seemed Rose knew the Queen very well, even to her habits and the way she thought. It also seemed as though Rose had grown in stature somehow, had now come into possession of a voice that commanded power, or at the very least, respect.

Soon, they came to the set of ornate doors, Trish gasping aloud as she caught sight of the intricately set jewels. Rose turned towards her at the sound, her face stern.

'Listen to me carefully, you two. You must remember everything that I tell you now and you must _do_ everything I tell you, no matter how absurd it sounds. Okay?'

'All right,' Trish readily agreed.

'Get on with it.' Rose knew Dante well enough by now to know that this was the demon slayer's way of giving his consent.

'All right. When we walk into the chamber, do not bow until I tell you to, no matter what. Do not compliment her on anything. Not her looks, not her clothes, not the throne room, not her shoes, not her hair and _especially_ not her jewellery,' she said, aiming a dark look at Trish as she said this last part. She paused here. 'Basically, you need to piss off the Queen and let me smooth things over, making me look good in the process.'

'Piss off royalty? Sounds fun,' Dante chuckled, a fiendish grin appearing on his face.

'Fine. But don't get angry at me afterwards for yelling and insulting you, okay? Remember that this is all an act.'

'Do you think the Queen will _really_ fall for this?' Trish asked, her face a picture of worry.

'Trust me, she'll fall for it. She isn't all that smart. Brutal and devious most certainly, but not smart. There's a very fine line between being devious and smart.' All this time, Jay had been talking to the guards, and had waited as one of them had gone in to the Queen. Jay knew that if he could not hear a word of the rescuers' conversation, then there was no way in heaven or hell that the two guards would have been able to hear a thing. The guard soon returned and nodded to him formally, indicating that they had been granted permission to enter. Jay looked over his shoulder and called to the three friends.

'Come on. You've been granted a hearing. The Queen does not have all day!' Rose spread out her wings, stretching them to their full span before walking inside, her head held high, her posture straight and refined. Halfway into the room, she dropped to her knees and bowed. Trish and Dante stood behind her, looking faintly nonplussed, trying to act out their roles of rude strangers, who had no idea how to behave.

'Rise,' commanded an imperious voice. Rose immediately stood up, bowing again once more as she straightened up. Romana's eyes narrowed dangerously as she stared at the two hybrids. 'Do you not know who I am?' Rose affected a look of surprise immediately.

'Your Majesty! _I_ bowed before you! I know who you are! Why do you ask me such questions?'

'Not you, Rose. Them.'

'Did they not bow?'

'They dared to disrespect me!' Romana growled, her eyes flashing with anger. Rose gasped with outrage before whirling upon the two slayers.

'Fools! Do you really not know before who you stand? You stand before the _Queen_!' Dante blinked.

'Really? I thought the Queen of England was older by a year or two.' He squinted at this point and then smiled. 'Oh _right_! I get it now. _Now_ I see. Yeah…she looks as old as the Queen…'

'Therefore she's _got_ to be the Queen,' Trish piped up helpfully.

'Still, now that I look at her, she actually looks older then when she looks on the TV.'

'You know, I think you're right.'

'SILENCE!' Rose cried, her voice horrified by such behaviour. The Queen of the harpies looked almost apoplectic. Rose immediately began smoothing over the situation. 'You will not speak in such an insolent manner towards the Queen of the Harpies, against the most glorious, the most feared, the most spectacular, magnificent and wondrous woman ever to fly the skies! Her beauty is without parallel. Now I command you to bow and treat her with the respect that such a ruler deserves!'

The two hybrids immediately bowed, Dante feeling secretly sick at the fact that he was bowing down to authority. In his head, he flipped her off multiple times. He allowed himself to smile inwardly as his stomach began to calm down and as the nauseous sensation gradually died away. The ruse appeared to have worked however, for the Queen was beginning to smile.

'Oh Rose, you have always ensured that my subjects remained loyal to me, my brilliant right hand, my advisor. You have always been there for me, haven't you?' Dante had a hard time trying to keep the shock away from his face. Rose? A Royal Advisor?

'Your Majesty has doubted me in spite of this,' Rose murmured.

'Yes and I am sorry darling. Really I am. How might I ever repay you?' Romana asked, her voice as sweet as honey. Sickly.

'There is nothing you can do now, my liege,' Rose replied, lowering her head and looking away. 'My feelings have been wounded most grievously. Your words offended me beyond measure, that you even doubted me for an instant.'

Romana's words became high and pleading at that point. 'Come come now, Rose. This is not right. I will do you any one favour as a token of my gratitude.'

'There is nothing you can do for me.'

'I will not have this. You _will_ demand something from me or I shall have your head!'

'Anything?'

'Yes.'

'Anything at all?'

'Yes. No matter how ridiculous or how petty, yes.'

'Then I wish only for the vampire Reiko Kaneshiro to be freed.' A deathly hush fell upon the room, a silence that nothing could ever hope to possibly stir. Romana sighed.

'You do know what you ask of me, correct?'

'Indeed.'

'Tell me, why are you so eager for the vampire to be freed? Do you remember what happened when you chose a-'

'This is nothing like before, Your Majesty.'

'It better not be.'

'It was simply that I heard he was giving us a rare and powerful gift in return?'

'Yes. I have taken it from him already, just before I threw him into the dungeons.'

'Yet this is doing nothing to enhance our reputation. I say that we should let him go. After all, it was not his fault, I am sure of it. This one seems a decent sort from what I have heard. Did he seem vicious to you?'

'No.'

'Well then, Majesty, what's the harm of letting him go?' The Queen was about to answer when Inferno suddenly burst into noise and began to fly about the room, surprising everyone. They watched silently as the bird fluttered around, moving from one corner to the other, clearly agitated. At that point the guard came bursting through the doors.

'Your Majesty!' he panted. 'The dragon has been sighted!'

'Give orders to get everyone inside this minute! _Now_!'

'Your Majesty,' Dante spoke up at this point. 'I can defeat the dragon.'

'_So do it then_!'

'What's in it for me? For us?' Dante was careful to keep his voice level as he addressed her.

'What do you want?' The Queen sounded suddenly weary as panic began to overcome her.

'If I kill the dragon, you let Reiko go, got it?'

'Fine…_Fine_! Just go! Go!' And with that, she had them thrown out of her throne room. Jay stood there, his eyes wide and frightened. Rose turned to him immediately.

'Where was the dragon sighted?'

'Near the sea…'

'Take us there. Immediately! There is no time to lose!'


	29. Chapter 29

**Chapter 29**

As soon as they were back in the outside world, the first thing that Dante was struck by were the mundane brown streets, the ash grey buildings. After witnessing the grandiose splendour of the harpies' royal palace, the dreariness of the normal streets came as a huge shock. For a second, he had lived in the illusion that the world was indeed a fabulous place, that it was worth fighting for. But it was ironic really, that as soon as he had stepped back into the real world, his real life, that the illusion slipped away as though it had never existed, showing that there really was no point in struggling to live, in fighting for the lives of others.

All these thoughts occurred to him in the space of a single moment and were quickly forced from his mind in the space of another second.

The second thing Dante did as soon as they left the palace was to check the time. This he did while they ran after Jay, who was again acting as their guide. He frowned, had time really gone by so fast? It barely felt as though they had done much and yet it was already three in the morning. His body suddenly felt exhausted as his mind finally remembered all the events of the night.

First there had been the walking. He should have taken his bike to save time but he hadn't thought of that. Besides, it probably wouldn't have been a good idea in the first place; it didn't appear as though the palace had a car park available though Dante would have found it amusing if they _had_. Then there had been the whole thing with the vampires. What good had any of _that_ achieved? It had all been a waste of time, precious time. They should have just ignored them and should have just focussed on getting to the Queen.

The Queen. What an immature, arrogant, irritating little bitch! She was like a big kid, a big selfish spoilt brat. He felt vaguely sick as he remembered the sight of her face. He had never really disliked anyone to such a point. But Romana? Oh God…she was enough to make him want to actually puke! And he had thought that Jester had been bad enough. No, that bitch truly took the biscuit, the cookies and a huge bag of potato chips! Truly sickening…

Now his thoughts caught up with him and joined him in his present situation before fast-forwarding so then his thoughts were in the future. What was he going to do? Sure he had Infe- the _phoenix_ on his side but could a single creature really go up against the dragon? The bird was tiny in comparison to the hulking giant of a beast and to be quite frank about the whole matter, Dante would be surprised if the phoenix wasn't eaten and swallowed in one fluid action in the first five seconds. He sighed heavily at that point as they continued to steal through the shadows. Now was not the time to be doubting anything; he had come so far now. Sure, he had been doubtful a lot of time but now he could not afford to be. He really had no real reason to be when he thought about it in great detail. He had doubted the validity of the legend that had been described in Reiko's book, yet he had travelled to the mountains anyway. As he had spoken the words that had been set out for him, he had still been extremely sceptical. Yes, he had had a scary moment there when nothing had happened at first; after all the legend had never said anything about there being a test that he had to pass. But despite his disbelief it had still happened. He quickly glanced to his right and couldn't help but smile when he saw the phoenix flying beside him, his neck stretched out as though filled with purpose. Dante still couldn't believe that all of what had passed had actually happened. The idea seemed to fantastical, so unreal that he had to keep reminding himself that he wasn't in some kind of a twisted dreamscape, that this all was not part of some sort of illusion. It was all real, it was all happening; he was running, Inferno was flying, Jay was leading, Rose's feet were pounding the ground, Trish's energy was really zinging through the air as she became increasingly filled with the excitement of the pending battle. He looked towards her swiftly before turning his eyes back to the path that lay ahead. He wondered briefly whether Trish even truly realized the dangers that they were facing. Did she even worry in the slightest about what would happen if it all went horribly wrong? Then he told himself immediately that he was being an idiot, that he was secretly patronizing her and was under-estimating her and her capabilities. Trish had a certain innocence about her to the ways of the world but she was not a fool. She was anything but stupid, anything but a ditz who favoured revealing clothes.

Dread began to fill him at that moment as they ran down the street where he had come face to face with a certain doomed young boy. He blinked, and in that instant he saw the blood-stained teddy bear loom before him, a harsh reminder of his failure. What if he failed again?

He gave himself a mental shake, told himself not to be stupid, that there was no reason for him to start panicking now. He might have failed that one time but there were many more things he had actually succeeded at; like the fight against those strange demons that had tried to ambush him at his agency, like when he had defeated Vergil, like when he had sealed Mundus away. But the thing that buoyed his spirits the most was the fact that he had seen the legend come true before his very eyes, and that he himself had been the one that had brought the whole thing about.

The pub he had visited on the night of his failure raced past his vision as he ran on after the others. He heard as Trish gave a distinct gasp as she laid her eyes upon the dragon for the very first time, seeing as all the stories and as all of the descriptions came to fruition.

The dragon was every bit as awesome as usual, and was as every bit as frightening. Dante licked at dry lips as soon as he saw the glistening scales, heard the growling hiss, the maddened eyes. Then Rose drew his attention to something else.

'Look. On the pier. Standing before it.' Dante looked, and followed with his eyes the direction in which Rose was pointing. His eyes fell upon the man and even from the distance he was from him, he could see that the figure had unusual shimmering grey eyes. The second thing he noticed was the scar that ran down his face. This was obviously the man that Lorelei had described to them. He remembered the sketch that Trish had drawn. It was almost uncanny how much the picture resembled the man but then again, Trish had always been able to imagine things vividly in her mind. It had proved more than useful many a time before.

He growled and shook his head, angry and irritated with himself as he struggled to keep the thoughts in his head ordered. He had to stay alert; he had to keep his eyes on the target. His gaze slid over to rest on Rose as she began to speak again.

'He threatened me before the dragon came for me. I would have died that day had it not been for Reiko.'

'What were you doing out here anyway?'

'My sister died, as well as her husband. Their son, my nephew, he also died. I saw a puddle of his blood. I was grieving for them.' Dante shuddered, realizing suddenly how exactly Rose had been related to that boy. Instead of discouraging him from fighting, it gave him all the more fuel and it strengthened his resolve.. He would avenge her, and him, and all of those who had been killed mercilessly. His eyes locked onto the dragon-master and he growled again, his rage rising, beginning to threaten him with the blindness of hatred. Trish seemed to sense this and immediately placed a hand on his shoulder, trying to placate him. It helped, giving Dante the clarity he needed to know that now was not the time to go for a headlong charge. He had to think this through carefully before he ventured any kind of an attack, knowing instinctively that he and the phoenix would have to work together in a team in order to defeat their foe. So be it; he would think for as long as he had to, for as much time as the dragon would permit him. He watched as it arched its long neck, forming a graceful arc as it released a soft sibilant serpentine hiss to the night air. His eyes darted here and there eagerly, searching pedantically for some sort of a weakness, some sort of an area that was not covered totally by scales. There appeared to be no such place and Dante fell back, stumped. Rose watched him, shifting her weight from foot to foot, nervous in the awesome presence of the dragon.

'What are you waiting for?'

'I don't know. I think…some sort of sign…'

'The dragon's there! What other sign do you need?' There was a sudden gasp and Dante and Rose turned to look towards Trish, who had clamped her hands firmly to her mouth, her eyes wide. Dante sighed and rolled his eyes.

'What?' he snapped, his own anxiety making him particularly vicious. Trish stuttered incoherently before lifting a hand away from her mouth and pointing hysterically, a real fear shining in her eyes. Dante snorted. '_Yes_, I _know_ there's a dragon. I'm sure _everyone_ who's awake can see it!' Rose nudged Dante in the ribs, hard.

'I think she's trying to tell us something!'

'You _think_?'

'Wait…wait…'

'If you hadn't already noticed,' Dante returned sarcastically, his eyebrows quirked, 'I already _am_ waiting.'

'Where's Inferno?' Dante looked at the harpy blankly. 'Inferno. You know! _Inferno_! The phoenix?'

'He's flying right beside me! He has been all this time!' Dante frowned at the both of them, Trish still looking highly alarmed, spluttering from time to time, Rose's face stern but concerned at the same moment.

'I think you should look again, Dante.' Trish nodded in agreement at Rose's words. A slow scowl spread upon Dante's features. He looked at them uncertainly before slowly turning his head, wary as to what he would see. Nothing. There was nothing there for him to see. The bird, Inferno was gone, and not a trace of him could be found. He bit his lip before turning to the other two.

'I guess it's just me then. Me and the dragon.'

'Bullshit. You've got us two as well you know,' Rose replied quickly, her eyes hard. Trish nodded again before her tongue loosened and she was once again granted the gift of speech.

'I've been with you through thick and thin, Dante. You think a dragon is really going to scare me away? I'm sure we've faced worse than this somehow! What about Mundus? What about Argosax?'

'Trish can fight with me but Rose, I can't let you fight. It's your race that the dragon is after. It's too dangerous.'

'Which is precisely why I _must_ fight. I can provide a distraction. I know I can. And even if you say no, you are no master over what I choose to do. If Earth and Sea cannot hold me back then why should a single man try and do the same?' At that point, there came a fierce roar. Jay cried out with fear and ran for his life. Dante made as if to go after him but Rose stayed his hand. 'Let him go. He is no fighter. Let him go to his child.'

'Great…who'd have thought that the harpies have an equivalent of Remy?' Dante grumbled to himself in a low voice. There was no time to come up with a reply, for at that moment the dragon scented the air and gave vent to another hissing snarl before turning its sight directly onto them, before locking onto Rose. It surged forwards towards them, its eyes wild, its teeth bared.

'Scatter…' Dante growled. Trish nodded and stood still, waiting for the dragon to come closer. Rose quickly snapped out what little advice she had.

'It's slower on land! Whatever you do, don't lure it into the water. It's just as powerful and fast as it is in the air!' The ground trembled with each clawed step the dragon took, threatening to make them loose their footing. Dante quickly turned his head.

'Where the hell did you find that out from?'

'Reiko jumped into the water when he was cornered. He thought the dragon wouldn't have gone in after him but it did. I had to pull him out before the dragon broke every single bone in his body with its tail.'

'Tail's the strength then.' The dragon was now even closer, so close that Dante could smell its breath, could note the mad yellowed gleam in its eyes. Rose shifted uncomfortably as she was pierced through by the dragon's eyes. 'Not yet.' A whimper answered his command and she stopped moving altogether, her eyes wide with fright. Trish darted a glance towards her friend, noting the harpy's sudden paralysis. 'Not yet.' The dragon moved even closer before it reared up, it's mouth opening. 'Not yet…not yet…' The muscle's in the beasts neck had begun to tense. '_NOW_!'

At this instant, two things happened at once. Dante and Trish, who had wrapped her arms around Rose's waist ran in two opposite directions as the dragon's head came crashing down, almost too quick to see. It met with nothing but the hard stone of the ground. It yowled with pain, it's tail thrashing about, looking almost snake-like as it flailed. Dante dodged away from it before darting underneath the dragon's belly, trying to discern whether there was any part he could try and pierce through. The dragon howled before rising again. Dante rolled out of the way as the beast lay down altogether, hoping to crush him under its weight. Dante rolled to his feet and smirked, drawing his sword.

'You have to try better than _that_!' he laughed derisively. The dragon seemed to glare at him, as though it understood before Rose's scent caught its attention. It hissed again before suddenly whirling around and smashing him against the wall using its tail. Dante gasped, blood spraying out of his mouth as he collapsed in a heap. He tried to move, but screamed out in agony as his body refused to obey him. His back was broken, he could feel it, his arms and legs were in cocoons of pain, he couldn't feel the ground below him, nor the cold winds that he knew were blowing against him. All he could feel was the agony.

He slowly opened his eyes and growled when he saw that the dragon had turned to face Trish and Rose. Trish carefully backed away, still holding Rose to her, her teeth gritted, her eyes brimming with determination. Rose still appeared to be in the trance but she had regained some movement now, able to follow Trish's commands, even though her eyes were glassy due to her fear.

The dragon continued to move closer, until Trish found herself cornered on the edge of the pier, nothing but the ocean standing at her back. Rose whispered something under her breath but it was lost in the roaring winds, not allowing Trish to listen. The dragon growled before lowering its head so then its head was level with Trish's face. She let out a howl of anger as yellow energy surrounded her, the electricity crackling about her as she transformed, turning into her demonic form, in a last-ditch attempt. She let out a roar, releasing Rose from her grip and darted forward, yellow sparks leaping out from her hands, her eyes turning amber. The dragon reared back and let out a high scream of agony as the electricity made impact with its eyes. It shrieked and thrashed about, its tail creating chaos and destruction as it flailed, breaking wood, damaging the already unsteady pier. Rose seemed suddenly to break out of her trance as she clung onto Trish, the wood creaking and groaning under their feet.

'Look out!' And with that, their pier snapped and came crashing into the sea, taking them both down with it, Trish quickly turning back in her human form before she hit the water. Rose surfaced quickly, shaking dripping hair out of her eyes, the salt water stinging them, blurring her vision. She took in a gasp of air before diving down, finding Trish and dragging her up to the surface. Trish shivered and held onto her, her teeth clenched together, struggling to stay afloat because of her leather clothes. The dragon had calmed down, for reasons that the two soon came to understand.

Music was floating through the sky, the tune melodic and sorrowful. Trish turned her head slowly, trying to track down the source of the music. Her eyes soon found it and they narrowed. Lorelei hadn't been wrong. It really did seem as though it was this man who held the strings of the dragon, that it was him who was controlling the great leviathan by using the power of song. The dragon turned it's head at that moment, it's face twisted with pain. The girls gasped in surprise. Trish blinked, stunned. She hadn't thought that she had the power to blind a dragon. For that was exactly what she had done; she could see that as she stared into the white foggy depths of the dragon's eyes. Still, she knew that this didn't give her much of a reason to celebrate; after all, the dragon still had the power to sniff them out, and Rose and her kind were its prey. The dragon would have no trouble in finding them. Not only that, but the dragon was still more than able to hear them, just as it was listening to the music now. Trish blinked at that point. Speaking of music…

'It's stopped,' she whispered. She looked towards Rose uneasily. Rose held up a hand, beckoning for silence, her eyes narrowing.

'He's speaking.'

'I can't hear him.'

'Ssh! I need you to be quiet. Let me try and hear what he's saying.' Trish licked at dry lips, shivered as the water progressively made her colder and colder. Rose growled under her breath suddenly, startling the hybrid.

'What? What is it? What did he say?'

'Well, I think it's a good time for us to move!' And with that, she propelled herself out of the water, spreading out her wings and taking to the air as the dragon surged forwards. Trish shrieked and dived, acting on pure instinct.

The dragon growled and stood for a moment before scenting the air. It howled once again before chasing Rose, guided on only by its hearing and scent. Trish surfaced and quickly looked up, tracking Rose's flight anxiously. Then she caught sight of Dante and gasped to see him in such a vulnerable state. She looked again towards the dragon, saw that it was well distracted by the harpy and then checked on the grey-eyed man. He too was distracted, watching with a sick type of excitement as the dragon twisted and turned in the sky, desperate to spill the harpy blood it knew was close by. Trish swam silently to the shore and hauled herself up onto the dry land, her clothes heavy and cumbersome because of the water. She staggered slowly to Dante's side and fell to her knees, beside him, exhausted by her struggles against her leather clothes.

'Dante!' she gasped, stroking back a lock of her hair. He opened his eyes in response and stared directly at her, watching as she breathed out a huge sigh of relief. 'Thank God, I thought you were dead!'

'God's got nothing to do with this,' came the gruff reply, his eyes catching sight of Rose as she soared through the air, turning momentarily, waiting for the dragon to come closer before shooting upwards, as though fired by an arrow. 'She can't keep this up for long,' Dante growled. Trish nodded her agreement.

'Five minutes at the most.'

'That's all I need to finish healing myself.'

'Dante, I can't move well now that my clothes are wet. But Lorelei told us that the man was the one who was controlling the dragon.'

'Right. Go for the power source. Got it.'

Rose was quickly becoming exhausted, her wings refusing to beat the air effectively. She had no choice but to fight. She zoomed towards the ground and landed heavily, stumbling before whirling around just in time to see the dragon bearing down upon her, jaws wide open, beckoning. She screamed and closed her eyes tightly, crouching down, shielding her face with her arms, as though it would protect her.

A sound rent the air, the sound of steel. Rose blinked several times before daring to raise her head. Dante stood before her, his sword shielding her, his coat ripped, ragged and torn, billowing out around him as the wind shrieked past. She realized then that the sword was the only thing that had saved her; the dragon's teeth were braced against it.

The dragon shoved forward and Dante cried out as he triggered, his hair flying out of his eyes as he transformed, trying desperately to match the dragon's strength with his own. He turned his crimson eyes onto her, his arms shaking, the sword screaming out in protest.

'Run!' he hissed out, causing Rose to flinch at the deep growling tones of his new voice. Rose was about to move when Dante lost the struggle and fell backwards, bowling her over, stunning them both. Rose screamed and clung to Dante tightly as she heard a voice ring through the air.

'Yuva! Now! You have her! Claim your reward!' The dragon reared back, gave vent to a triumphant growl and plunged its head down.

'No!' Rose cried out again as Dante rolled himself over, giving vent only to a grunt of pain as the teeth found their mark on his back, ripping him open. 'Dante!' The dragon lifted the demon-slayer bodily in its mouth and was about to do away with him when there was a sudden burst of music, sending shivers down Rose's spine. Dante stirred slightly in the dragon's jaws, moaning weakly as he did so.

Trish's eyes had widened and she mouthed out something as though it were a prayer, but Rose could not understand what it was she had said. Even the dragon-master had stopped playing his music, a look of surprise shining all too clearly in his eyes. The dragon paused before letting its jaw hang fully open, releasing Dante from its deadly grip. It hissed before turning slowly, its wings spreading out. Then, without any warning it took to the skies, a low growl rumbling deep in the pit of its belly.

Trish took the opportunity to dash over to Dante and Rose, dropping to her knees and examining the slayer's wound. She sighed with relief; though the wound was pretty serious, Dante would not die. Already she could see that his blood was trying to reverse the damage. Rose shivered, and continued to look panicked. Trish smiled at her, gazing steadily at her.

'Don't worry. I know that song. It's Inferno. It's the song of the phoenix. He came back.' Rose knew immediately that the hybrid was right. She wondered why it was that she hadn't realized it before. Only a phoenix could sing a melody that beautiful. Dante opened his eyes and watched silently as the dragon gave vent to another battle cry before flying up; Dante followed it with his eyes and stared in awe at the fiery red thunderbolt that came racing down from the heavens, the song transforming into an eerie shriek, like that of an eagle's.

Dragon and Phoenix crashed into each other, the piercing wail of the crimson bird sounding alongside the angered roar of the scaled beast. The two seemed to melt into one as they thrashed and bit, pecked and clawed at each other, feathers and scales raining down upon the ground below. The bird seemed to have grown to about the same height as a griffon, matching the dragon equally in size and weight. As Dante watched, he could see that the phoenix was merely toying with the dragon, not even coming close to showing his full strength. Inferno gave vent to another throaty cry and this time, Dante could detect clearly a note of mockery to it. The dragon roared in answer and charged towards it but the phoenix merely dodged away, tucking in its wings and flying below it, whirling around to face the dragon again. Dante saw immediately what the plan was; the crimson warrior was trying to wear it down.

He seemed to be doing a good job too. The dragon hissed before coming to land heavily, its legs trembling under its weight. The phoenix soared in a circle overhead, crying out his song again before dive bombing against it. The dragon bent its head, summoning a tidal wave, pelting the bird with water, causing Inferno to shriek in protest as he climbed the skies again. The dragon hissed before beating its wings heavily, snarling as it tried to face the phoenix once more. Dante knew at once that the dragon had lost.

He watched, his face impassive as the bird dived once more, striking the dragon sharply on the head. The dragon abruptly jerked, the wings ceasing to beat the air. The already fogged eyes misted over as the dragon crashed to the sea, a soft muted growl escaping its throat as it submerged. The dragon-master gasped, his eyes wide with rage and shock.

'No! Yuva! Yuva!' He brought his flute to his lips and began to play a frantic tune, the notes moving quickly, like running water. Dante sat up carefully, healed, and stared at the water, his heart falling to his stomach as he watched it churn, as the dragon raised its head. The dragon-master stopped playing, a look of joy and relief passing over his face as he ran towards the water's edge. But a change had come over the dragon and it looked away from him, hissing warningly at him. 'Yuva! Turn around and finish them off! Obey my commands!' But Yuva would listen no longer, giving vent to a fearsome cry as its tail snaked out towards him and dealt him a quick but sickening blow, sending him crashing to the ground, a broken heap. Then, without a sound, it submerged.

Dante ran across what was left of the pier and peered down into the murky depths of the water, just in time to see a serpentine shape glide through the deep, out into the middle of the ocean where it would return, defeated, to its deep slumber.

'Dante!' Trish's voice called him back. He looked towards the water again, only to see that the dragon had disappeared. He shook his head slowly before tilting his head back, looking to the sky, watching Inferno as he flew in circles. The phoenix began to sing as flames started licking at the edges of his body before he descended to land again on Dante's shoulder, the flames fading as the phoenix returned to its normal size. Then and only then did Dante return to Trish's side.

The dragon-master was miraculously alive even after the dragon had dealt its last blow. He bared his teeth, drawing his lips backwards in a weak attempt to appear intimidating. Dante kicked him roughly in the side, and the man coughed up blood as a response.

'You thought that hurt, right? If you don't work with me I'll make it hurt a lot more,' Dante threatened. He watched as the grey eyes widened and as the dragon-master's skin turned pale. He cleared his throat.

'A-all right…I'll tell you everything! _Everything_!' Dante smiled thinly at this.

'Good.'

Who are you working for?' Rose asked in a low voice. The man tried to shift his legs but screamed, forced to give up. His body was utterly useless to him now. He really _had_ no choice but to answer.

'T-the…the Empress of the Underworld…'

'I thought Mundus was the-'

'_No_. Mundus is nothing but a pretender. It is only by her mercy that he is allowed to live. She likes to remain anonymous, a secret that strikes terror into the hearts of all when it is revealed.'

'So you're working on her orders then?'

'I was more than happy to.'

'Why?'

'My name is Baal. You,' he nodded towards Rose at this point, 'You may remember an ancient race that went by the name of the Wyvernites. I am the last of them. And when I die, so will an ancient, lost civilization. I joined the Empress, long may she live, because she promised me revenge on your cursed race. She said I could wipe you all out, just as you did with my family and my people.' Baal fell silent and Trish and Dante looked towards the harpy, who's face had become hard with anger.

'The Wyvernites were a peaceful race. They didn't believe in fighting. But Romana wanted their domain and so she killed them all.'

'No, it wasn't just that,' Baal spoke up again. 'It certainly played a strong part but it certainly wasn't that. She thought we were demons, because of our ability to communicate with dragons. She thought that if a war erupted, we would side with the vampires. We were unfairly prosecuted…' Choking coughs racked his body as blood oozed out of his mouth.

'How strong is the Empress? How many is her number?' Trish asked, her voice sounding unnaturally high due to stress.

'Her numbers so far amount to…to…I don't know. I can't tell you. They number as many as the stars in the sky. And they increase with every second as more and more join her ranks.' Baal's eyes closed slightly before he allowed a twisted smirk to cross his face. 'You'll never defeat her, you know. Never. She's too strong. Stronger than Mundus, Argosax, than anything you've ever faced all combined in one!' He let out a choked laugh, sounding gleeful. 'You'll never gather the forces in time. She shall march out after another ten months.'

'Ten months?' Dante whispered, his brow creased. 'That's December…'

'When in December?' Rose gasped. But Baal only laughed harder before biting off his own tongue, fighting his body's efforts to stay alive as blood entered his lungs, sliding down his throat. In his last moments, he gurgled and threw a small pouch on the ground, which exploded as soon as it made contact. Inferno cried out in alarm and flew off, leaving Dante, Trish and Rose to choke in the gas as it sent them into a deep death-like sleep.

---

Dante opened his eyes and stared about in confusion. He was in a room that reeked of disinfectant. He wrinkled his nose and slowly sat up before taking a proper stock of his surroundings. It appeared as though he was in a hospital. But there was something wrong; there were no humans. He smiled wanly as he spotted Inferno perching by his side. The phoenix must have flown off to get them help. Clever bird…So, he was in the harpy palace, in the infirmary. He wondered how long it had been since he had been brought here.

'Six days you've been unconscious now,' said a voice. Dante turned his head towards the sound to see Jay standing by him.

'Six days? What about the others?'

'They both woke up four days earlier. They said you were closest to the bomb when it was thrown and when it exploded. They've been kept in the infirmary though, just in case they had some sort of a relapse.'

'Right…' But to Dante's surprise, the harpy continued to look upset. 'What's wrong? Your sister's fine.' The harpy seemed quite beside himself with distress and Dante couldn't work out why. Then it suddenly clicked. 'Shit! Has anyone told the Queen that the dragon's gone?'

'No…she didn't want to see you three until you were properly discharged and that won't be happening for another four days.'

'So Reiko hasn't been let out?'

'No.'

'Shit! How long has he been held in your dungeons now?'

'Today is his ninth day. By the time you get out, it would be thirteen days.'

'Do you think he'll last?' The harpy's downcast face told Dante all he needed to know. 'Shit! Get me out of this place, now! I need to speak to your Queen immediately!'

'But she won't listen to you! You wouldn't have been discharged properly!'

'Look,' Dante handed him five twenty pound notes. 'Here's one hundred pounds. Give that to the guys in charge and tell them to discharge all three of us.'

'But-'

'You want Reiko alive or not?' Jay nodded mutely. 'Then do it!' The harpy needed no second bidding and immediately scuttled off, not wanting to invite Dante's wrath any further.

---

It appeared as though harpies were no strangers to the idea of bribery, nor did they really look down upon it, grabbing money and stuffing it in their pockets hungrily and happily. Within minutes, the three had been discharged from the infirmary and were racing through the grand hall-ways, past magnificent tapestries and majestic paintings of the monarchs of the past. Jay was leading them as they flew past the people of the court, as the world seemed to move under their feet, turned by their power, bringing them closer and closer…

And then they were there, standing in front of the massive ornate doors, which seemed almost too heavy to move. Jay moved to talk to the guards but this time, Dante was more than aware of the minutes being wasted by such formalities. With every second that passed, Reiko's life ebbed away.


	30. Chapter 30

**Chapter 30**

The huge ornate double doors slowly swung open, the hinges screaming as if in pain as they moved, the jewels twinkling as they caught the light, looking for all the world as if they were winking at the band of friends as if sharing some sort of strange secret. Trish looked about edgily as Rose gave vent to a low growl and suddenly stormed ahead of them, pushing open the doors the rest of the way, glowing slightly with a purple halo of energy. Dante's eyes gleamed with the promise of battle as he stalked forwards, his now ripped and somewhat ragged red coat swirling about his ankles as he moved, his every motion bursting with raw, unchecked strength. Trish however, was more wary, uncertain as to why Rose was displaying such anger. After all, this was all bound to get sorted out as quickly as possible. Rose would show herself to be completely well and the Queen would let Reiko go, just as she had promised. Everything was going to be okay.

Now if only she could actually persuade herself that she was actually speaking the truth…

Romana looked up at them and took in their features, took in Rose's pale yet angry face. Instead of rebuking them for barging in without warning, she merely sighed and looked world-weary, as if she had been through an extremely tiring day instead of sitting around and doing nothing.

'What is it _now_?' She asked, her tone one of boredom. Rose had an answer for her immediately.

'You know damn well what's wrong! We killed the dragon. And I'm sure you know it!' She snapped, her voice vicious, like steel. Romana blinked slowly, before lounging back in her throne languidly.

'No one told me.'

'Why didn't they?'

'I wanted to hear it from the donkey's mouth,' she drawled, her eyes flicking appraisingly over Dante. He growled softly and bared his teeth at the insult.

'Well now you know. The dragon's dead. Keep to your side of the bargain. Let Reiko go.'

'Reiko? Oh…right…the vampire. That thing…' Rose said nothing to this, knowing when to keep silent and when to speak. Trish shifted her weight uneasily from foot to foot, looking at Dante anxiously, who merely stood there, the expression on his face inscrutable. There was a silence as Romana slowly got to her feet, her sceptre in her hand. 'Fine. I made a bargain and I know how to keep a promise, despite what others may think.' Here, she cast a cursory yet meaningful glance at Rose, who refused to react. 'I'll let the vampire go.'

Trish smiled in relief, silently congratulating herself for knowing that things would work out for the best. Dante however, said nothing, choosing to frown instead. He had a bad feeling about all of this. It seemed too easy, too simple. Still, he shouldn't be complaining after all the crap they'd been through. Maybe he'd just become far too accustomed to there being trouble. It made sense, but it worried him.

At that point, the heavy doors swung open again. The three friends turned as one to stare as a guard came through, holding an all too familiar person in his arms. Rose let out a groan. Lorelei.

She struggled wildly, her startling green eyes burning with a mad fury, the likes of which only Dante had seen before. The guard held on gamely before tightening his grip and pulling her arms back painfully, thus disabling her and ensuring she could make no more sudden moves. Romana stared at her before her eyes dawned with recognition. She snarled, rushing towards her, dealing her a stinging slap on the cheek, followed by another.

'_You!_' she hissed. 'You dared to raise your hand against me! You dared to attack your Queen!'

'You're no Queen of mine!' Lorelei shouted, her face red with anger. 'I _have_ no Queen!' Romana blinked several times before laughing harshly.

'I still can't believe you don't know. Your parents never told you?'

'My mother doesn't tell me anything. She barely speaks to me. My father left when I was five years old,' Lorelei blurted, cursing herself almost immediately afterwards. There had been no reason to say that now, was there?

'Oh, and your mother never told you why your father left?' Well, that had certainly got her attention. Lorelei turned limp in the guard's arms, the fight gone out of her as she stared at the Queen, noticing for the first time the knowing look on her face. What was it that she knew that she didn't? She gritted her teeth together with anger but knew better than to try and struggle again. Romana laughed again harshly, as Dante, Trish and Rose stared on, all three of them feeling as though they were bearing witness to something they shouldn't. Romana stalked into the center of the room, so then she was all the closer to the younger woman. Lorelei's eyes narrowed, the green colour burning like fire.

'Ooooh, what a _shame_. I see your mother didn't tell you anything! She didn't tell you that it was her children's fault. She hasn't told you anything at all. And what about your sister, Catherine? Has she said anything to you?' Lorelei licked at suddenly dry lips and looked at her fearfully.

'H-How do you know my sister?' she asked, her voice small and afraid. A cruel smile drifted over Romana's face. She looked towards the guard and made a small motion. The guard instantly released Lorelei and pushed her to the ground before striding out of the door, his gait one that screamed of confidence. Lorelei slowly picked herself up and stared at the queen again. 'How do you know my sister!' she repeated again, her voice louder, angry. Even so, Dante could still hear the fear, could smell her fear. It was so palpable he could almost taste it.

'Wait and see,' Romana laughed, her voice like crystal daggers. The door opened again and Lorelei turned to see the newcomer.

'C-Cathy? W-what are you doing here!' She gasped. Her older sister's eyes switched to stare at her. For a few seconds, all she could do was gape as she took in her sister's face. Then she gasped again and looked towards the queen and then back towards her.

'L-Lorelei! What are _you_ doing here!'

'What's this all about?' Dante cut in, staring at the Queen, who looked as though she was enjoying herself immensely.

'Why don't you ask Catherine? Why won't you let her speak?' Romana answered, her smile cruel, her eyes showing only a gleam of wicked delight.

'Cathy?' Lorelei whispered again, her voice suddenly sounding somewhat weak and drained.

'Mom didn't want you to know…Mom didn't want you to find out,' Cathy gabbled, nothing like her former cold self.

'Know what?' Lorelei whimpered.

'We're harpies. All of us. You and me, we're hybrids. Half human and half harpy. Mum's a full bred harpy. That's why dad left us. He left shortly five years after you were born.'

'I know that! But…'

'Why? Because…you were the one who first exhibited the powers. It freaked Dad out,' Cathy's voice was resonant with bitterness. 'He left when he found out.' Her eyes turned hard as she stared at her sister. 'He left because of you. He wouldn't have found out if it wasn't for you.' Lorelei was shocked into silence, her eyes slowly filling up with tears. 'After that, Mum refused to let you go anywhere by yourself. She was scared of what might happen. You were uncontrollable.'

'You…you should have told me…'

'And what good would it have done?'

'I think I have a right to know myself! Everything I know has been a _lie_! You _lied_ to me! You had me thinking I was some sort of _freak_! That I was the only one! That no one else in the world understood what I was going through! And no one ever explained to me why I knew what I knew, how I could tell the future sometimes, how I knew secrets that I never wanted to know! You _both_ lied to me!'

'For God's sake! We're your family! We didn't want you to know! We thought it would be easier for you this way!'

'I don't give a damn about that! Do you _know_ how hard it was for me back at school? How I was _hated_ by everyone? If you had told me, than maybe I would have been able to keep my mouth shut, and I would have known that this was some kind of secret that no one should ever know!'

'You weren't smart enough to think of that, Lore.'

'Like hell you'd know! You never fucking paid attention to me! You never fucking cared! Neither did Mum! All I was to both of you was just some kind of…I was just _there_ and you _always _ignored me! _Always_! And now I know why.' Cathy frowned and looked at her questioningly, confused. Lorelei started to speak again, her voice high-pitched, shaking with pure adulterated anger. ' "Dad left because of you. He wouldn't have found out if it weren't for you!" ' She began to tremble all over, a shining aura beginning to surround her.

'Lore…'

'Get the _hell _away from me, bitch!'

'We're your family!'

'Not anymore,' Lorelei's voice broke and she began to sob hysterically. Trish shook her head slowly before silently moving towards her, holding her close, trying to comfort her. Gradually, her sobs began to quieten. Rose frowned before turning her attention back to the queen.

'I don't know what you were hoping to achieve by _that_ little display, but it doesn't change a damned thing. Let the vampire go.'

'Oh it changes a thing or two, believe me. I'm not letting him go. I've changed my mind. I mean, why exactly should I let him go? I'd be getting rid of one of the strongest leaders of that unsightly race. And besides, I have gained what I wanted from him already. I have new added powers.' She smirked and held out the glittering red jewel, her eyes filled with malice. 'There is no reason to keep an enemy alive. There is no reason at all. He's just taking up valuable space.'

'Romana!' Rose snarled, her eyes glittering with a light that Dante had never seen before. The queen frowned and returned her attention to her, a loo of disgust and utter loathing on her face. She leapt to her feet, her anger forcing her off the throne and into the middle of the floor. She hissed, her cloak flowing behind her, her eyes narrowed.

'You dare show disrespect to your queen? You dare question my orders and my decisions? You really dare to?' She was more or less gibbering with rage and Dante was hard-pressed to stop a smile from slowly spreading across his face. Trish merely continued to watch intently, her eyes and ears missing nothing. She saw how the queen's eyes had widened again, and to anyone else, they would have appeared to be their normal size. But Trish could see that they were bulging slightly, and she could also see that her jaw was set in a rigid scowl. Her fingers were twitching slightly and from that single motion, Trish gathered that the queen was trying with everything she had not to let her emotions blind her. Interesting…why would the queen be so bothered as to whether she was consumed by the flames of her anger? Unless…unless she knew that it was some kind of weakness, maybe even her biggest one.

The exact opposite of Dante. He always seemed to gather strength when he was pissed off beyond belief, acting on pure instinct and _always_ coming out on top.

If this was so, then it really didn't matter if she was a queen or not; she wouldn't pose much of a threat if she was prodded enough. She began to make plans to try and silently tip off the others without letting the queen know that _she_ knew. How could she do it though? How could she make them see what she had already noticed?

Meanwhile, without them even realizing it, the two harpies had begun circling each other, both of them armed, Rose with her light sword and the queen with her sceptre. Their eyes were narrowed as they silently intimidated each other. Trish made as if to move forward and was automatically stopped when Dante put his arm out in front of her. Trish frowned before looking up at him and blinked when the slayer shook his head once, the movement so slight that only she would have been able to see it. Her attention immediately switched back to the two harpies as Rose began to speak, her tone filled with venom.

'Don't you even begin to ask me what the meaning of all this is! You know damn well what this is all about!'

'You're jealous! You've been jealous of me ever since I got the crown!'

'Jealous! You think this is all about your stupid little _hat_? You really are a dumb bitch and you were even before you _stole_ the crown and proclaimed yourself queen!'

'What?'

'We all know that you've done something with the true monarch, with the King. And once he was gone, you killed the Queen! In secrecy, not in a full-battle.' There was a silence, broken only by the sound of Rose's voice echoing around the chamber.

'Preposterous!'

'But true.'

'How dare you accuse me!'

'And what's worse is the fact that ever since you've been seated on the throne, the reputation of our race has been savaged. We are seen as nothing more than brutal and vicious slayers who kill anything when we please! And who's fault is _that_?'

'I have had nothing to do with it.'

'Our King and Queen, the monarchs who rules over us before you came along, they were hoping to raise our reputation, to do away with the stereotype. They were working towards a time of peace and prosperity. Then you came, and you destroyed it all. You have made everyone worse than what they were in the first place!' Romana could only glare at her, her anger more than palpable. Dante could honestly believe that he could taste it and it excited the devil within him. Trish frowned before gently placing her hand on his arm, sensing the devil stirring inside him, knowing what it craved for. She turned her attention back to the scene before her, her eyes grim. Rose seemed to have finished collecting her thoughts, for she had begun to speak again.

'They never wanted to prolong the war between the vampires and the harpies. They never wanted to do anything of the sort. They were so close to achieving their dream…'

'Bull-shit! There were still killings, even when they held the throne!'

'Sure, but they were far and few between. The kill-count there was then is nothing compared to how it looks now.'

'Vampires are scum!'

'And perhaps it's our fault! Look at the way you're treating the one who came to you, who gave you a gift in exchange for peace! Let him go! You sentenced him to die! Please, let him go!'

'I refuse to. His people attacked the palace. I am not letting him go.'

'The dragon is dead. Dante kept to his side of the bargain. Now it is time to keep to your end of the deal!'

'I refuse, I have taken what power he offered us.'

'It was a gift and in return you gave him a death-penalty.'

'Vampires deserve nothing more or less. They will learn that to deal with our race will only seal their fate. They are parasites that cannot truly live, so they feed off of those that can.'

'So that's it? You've gone back on your word?' The queen gave no reply but merely raised her eyebrows, telling her without words that the situation was more or less self-explanatory. 'Then you leave me with no other choice.'

'Which is?'

'To fight you.' Romana didn't look the least bit perturbed by Rose's statement.

'How utterly juvenile.'

'For the throne.' Dante watched with glee as Romana's face contorted with a mixture of surprise, fury and maybe even a little bit of fear. Well, that had certainly made her stop and think, hadn't it? Romana took a few seconds to compose herself before she let a feral growl escape her lips.

'For the throne. You'll lose you know.'

'Really? Are you really so sure about that? Because I was under the impression that it was going to be the opposite. We need a queen who will never break a vow. You hear? We need a queen who knows the meaning of honesty, who knows how to keep her word. And I know, that I can beat you. I will fight you unless you agree to let Reiko go.'

'Then you'd better prepare yourself because I'm not letting him go.'

'No. No time for preparations. We fight right here and right now.'

'Agreed!' And with that, the two flung themselves at each other, their war cries reverberating around the room, ringing shrilly in the hybrids' ears. Trish stared up at Dante, a look of hopelessness in her eyes. Dante sighed before answering her unspoken question.

'As much as I hate to admit it, this is their fight. We can't step in the way.'

Steel clashed against steel, ringing in the air, sending painful vibrations down the harpies' arms. Rose hissed before nimbly dodging backwards, letting Romana's weight carry her forward. The queen quickly regained her footing before she had the chance to fall flat on her face, whirling around and catching Rose painfully in the ribs, causing her to give vent to a shallow gasp. Romana glared at her, her anger ill-disguised as she stared at her through narrowed eyes. Suddenly, she didn't seem so ludicrous to Trish. The woman was truly someone to be reckoned with. She flinched as Romana roughly kicked Rose in the side.

'Come on. Get up. You wanted the throne, didn't you? You wanted to fight, now fight! Or is that all you have? My God, you _do_ know that when you fight a harpy for the throne, the two must fight to the death, don't you?' Rose was silent, merely screwing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth, her breath whistling noisily from in between them. Trish licked at dry lips, her eyes wide and frightened for her friend.

'Rose, get up…_please_ get up!' She gasped. Rose groaned again before painfully reaching for her sword, which was just out of hand's reach. She inched forwards, her teeth gritted out of agony, sliding across slowly. Romana sneered before kicking the blade away from her and watched in delight as Rose stared in dismay at her weapon.

'So, you're more or less nothing without your sword. How sad. Yet also pathetically amusing!' Rose snarled at the jibe before suddenly reaching into her boot, sliding out a lethal edged dagger. She gave vent to a wild cry as she plunged it into Romana's foot while the queen was too stunned to move away in time. Rose roared as she whipped it out and stabbed it into the other foot, effectively laming her opponent. The queen glared up at her, her lips drawn back with pain, sweat beading on her forehead as she lay sprawled out on the ground, panting with agony.

Rose started laughing, her voice sounding unusually cruel compared to its former self.

'Come on, get up,' she hissed, her voice rising and falling menacingly, mimicking Romana's words. 'You wanted to fight. Now fight! Or is that all you have?' She laughed again but it was suddenly cut short when Romana's wings spread from her back slowly and started beating the air rhythmically. She gradually rose into the sky, blood dripping from her feet. Her eyes flared and she shook her head pityingly.

'I can't believe you actually thought that you'd be able to stop me from moving. Such a foolish child.' Rose stared up at her, her face expressionless. She suddenly smiled before spreading out her own wings and meeting her in mid-air.

'I wouldn't really expect nothing less to be honest. And hilariously enough, this was my plan. It's obvious that you've become out of touch with all that has happened within your court. Otherwise you would know that I'm the best in combat when air-bourne. You were always better on land, weren't you? Do you remember now? I'd always outstrip you in the air.' A look of horror filled the queens face. 'Goodbye, Romana.'

'I am the queen!'

'You _were_ the queen.' Lorelei suddenly found that her eyes were being covered by her sister's hand. But no one could prevent her from hearing the air-splitting shriek that rent the air. And no one could stop her from gagging on the smell of blood and no one could stop the audible sound of something falling to the ground. All of these sounds happened in the space of a few moments. Catherine gave vent to a shocked gasp before jerking back out of revulsion, accidentally uncovering her sister's eyes.

Lorelei bit her lip as she noticed the crimson that stained the once white marble walls, the scene just like the one in her dream before her encounter with the dragon. She understood. The whole thing had been a premonition and she had failed to see it for what it was.

At that point, the double doors swung open, revealing Rose's pale-faced brother and the two guards. As one, they all bowed down at Rose's feet, waiting for her first command. The new queen stood there quietly, the look on her face grave before her gaze switched to the headless body on the floor.

'Clean that mess up. I want no trace of blood to be found. Tell the people that the queen is dead, and that I have resumed her place.'

'Yes, your Majesty,' the two guards murmured.

'Let them know of the exact events that transpired here. Let there be no doubt on how the throne became mine.' She reached out and laid a hand on each of their foreheads, her palms glowing gently, transferring her memories to their minds. 'Go now and do my bidding.' The two guards left without another word, leaving Jay on his own, who slowly stood upright and picked up the crown from where it had fallen. He smiled gently before placing it on top of her sister's head. Catherine was silent for a split second before she started calling at the top of her voice.

'Long live the Queen! Long live the Queen!' As harpies from all over flocked to see the new queen for themselves, the cry grew louder and louder as they too took up the shout. Amidst all the celebrating, no one noticed as Dante and Trish slipped out of the room. And no one noticed that Lorelei was the only one who didn't join in.


	31. Chapter 31

**Chapter 31**

Dante and Trish stopped a short way from the throne room, Trish looking excited and pleased, Dante looking as grave and as serious as ever. Trish's grin faded away rapidly as soon as she noticed the look on her best friend's face.

'What is it? What's wrong?' she asked. Dante was silent but he slowly frowned as if deep in thought. 'Aren't you happy? Rose has now become queen!' she cried, her happy smile returning to her face, making her eyes shine and glitter brilliantly. Dante took in her expression of glee silently before shaking his head and padding off, his eyes darkened with concentration. 'I'd be happier if I were you,' Trish called after his retreating back. 'Now that Rose is queen, the vampires can get what they want. Reiko can finally get what he was after.' Dante stopped at that and sighed.

'Provided Reiko is still alive.' There was a stricken silence. 'Let me guess, you actually forgot that Reiko's a vampire, that he's one of them.' There was still no answer from the usually high-spirited blond. Dante sighed. 'I thought as much. Come on, instead of wasting time, we could be looking for a way down into the dungeons.'

'I didn't ever forget that he was a vampire, Dante.' There was a pause. 'Do you really think they would have put him down there?' she asked, her voice anxious. Dante sighed again, suddenly feeling very very weary.

'I don't see why they wouldn't. I don't see why any of the harpies would think of Reiko as anything special.'

'To them, he's just another run of the mill vampire.'

'Exactly.'

'I never understood that about humans,' Trish sighed. 'I hadn't realized that when I would join you that I'd actually give up some of my…well…I never thought that it would make me become even a little bit more pure. I thought it was impossible.' Dante knew better than to interrupt, secretly wondering where all of this was leading up to. Eventually, he realized that if anything else, Trish just needed to rant. He immediately felt guilty, and laughed softly, inwardly to himself. He'd come a long way. To think that once he had been immature, that once he'd been so…_brash_. Many people had thought that he was selfish, and many more assumed that he just didn't give a damn about what others thought of him and that he just didn't care about how his actions or words might affect those who surrounded him. In some respects, they had been right. He _had_ been thoughtless many a time and looking back, he could understand why Lady had hated him at first. Now look at him.

Yes, he'd definitely come one hell of a long way and the thoughts that were running through his mind more than proved it. And now, listening to Trish, he realized that he had more or less completely neglected her. He hadn't been moving from stage to stage by himself, Trish had been there with him all the way and he had been totally blind to it and had ignored her, moving straight down a path while wearing blinkers over his eyes, letting him see what was only straight ahead. He'd forgotten that anyone or anything else existed apart from him and his failure, apart from him and the phoenix that he had desperately sought out. So it was that he continued to walk, but made sure to actually listen to what his faithful companion had to say.

'And even though I'm part human now, I still can't understand how everyone can be so blind, that people generally can't see past blood or race or even species.'

'We live in a world of stereotypes, where everyone is given a label.'

'It's hard isn't it? Being hated by all. Not being understood.' Trish sighed. There was a silence, broken only by the sound of their footsteps echoing off the marble floors. 'I miss him. I can't stop thinking about him.'

'I know.'

'Inferno…he brought it all back for us, didn't he?'

'There wasn't anything to bring back. He's never far from my thoughts.' There was a slight pause. 'Sometimes,' Dante confided, 'I think he's the same bird.' Trish blinked up at him. 'He used to have one. Never called him a pet, but always his friend.'

'And he called him Inferno,' Trish finished, to which Dante nodded. The two of them were silent as they walked, each of them lost in their own unique thoughts. Dante found it hard to imagine the amount that they had all been through, found it hard to think of all they had seen and done, yet somehow, they'd been able to pull through. It was hard to imagine all these things, yet the thoughts and memories in his mind had somehow come to pass. His thoughts were suddenly shattered into irretrievable fragments as Trish's voice suddenly sounded.

'Hey, look.' Dante obeyed thoughtlessly, feeling drained and weary, just wanting to rest somehow. He laughed again at himself. And that was when he knew that mentally, he had grown old, perhaps a bit too much so. Physically he was in optimum shape, but he needed to take a break, even if it was only for two days. He quickened his pace to catch up with his friend.

'There's a door here. I've got a gut feeling it leads down.'

'It leads up,' came a voice from behind them. They both turned around, only to see Rose standing there, her face grim. 'Follow me, I can lead you to the dungeons.' She walked away quickly, Trish and Dante wasting no time in following her, both of them dreading what they would find when they reached the prisons. It soon transpired that they had been walking in the wrong direction completely. They soon came to a hidden door at the very end of a corridor and it was unlocked and pushed open without delay. The three hesitated momentarily before Dante and Rose stepped inside, only Trish holding back, having spotted a fourth person moving towards them hurriedly, her eyes as hard as emerald.

The four walked down without any further delays, Lorelei shivering as they went further and further down, the walls becoming damp, the air turning foul and acrid the deeper they progressed. Lorelei gave vent to a more than audible whimper, causing Trish to pull back from the other two, moving to hold Lorelei's hand, squeezing it gently in a bid to comfort the girl who had quickly become her friend. The two exchanged a look, the expression on Lorelei's face tremulous and anxious with Trish looking as grim as the silver-haired demon slayer. Yet somehow, seeing her look so emotionless made the newly discovered harpy feel somewhat safer.

And then they were at the bottom of the stair-case, and a total silence had fallen upon the group of four. To Trish, it seemed oppressive, ominous, as though they were standing as part of a funeral ceremony. And as soon as the Queen unlocked this next door that led to the prisons, Trish knew that maybe they had come too late.

The four trooped in and slowly began to pass cell after cell, peering in swiftly at each one, searching it worriedly for any sign of the vampire. And then Lorelei gasped, the sound more than audible, bringing everyone running to her side, to the cell that she was staring into, abject terror stamped on her face.

At first, when he looked into the cell, Dante saw nothing but a mess of blood and a pile of bloodied rags in the centre of the room. Only when the rags moved and gave vent to a feeble moan did Dante realize that it was Reiko.

For a few seconds, all they could do was stand there in horror as their eyes fell upon the once proud figure as he lay in a crumpled heap on the ground. Dante silently took in the sight of the ruined raw flesh, the blood that dripped from ghastly wounds and from his mouth, the clothes that barely covered the vampire's body, the way he was trembling all over. But what he really noticed, was the stink of death that was coming from him. Dante let the anger build up in his heart before it forced him into action. He snapped his head to the right, to stare piercingly at Rose.

'What are you waiting for? Open it up!' Rose jumped before looking towards him with tear-filled eyes. 'If he's going to die it won't be in a hell-hole like this. At least he'll have us with him.' Rose continued to stand there, statuesque, before she at last nodded and slipped the key into the lock with trembling hands. She slid the barred door open and stood back, her thoughts only breaking when she heard a thump from behind her. She turned to see Trish kneeling to support Lorelei's head, the girl in question having fallen to the ground. Trish looked up at her hopelessly.

'She fainted. Take care of her.' As Rose silently resumed her place, Trish got up and joined Dante, where he had knelt down besides their fallen friend. She watched as Dante pulled out his last vital star before placing it on Reiko's chest, trying to ignore the harsh cry of pain this elicited from the vampire. The green glow washed over the prone vampire's body and once it died away, the slayer looked desperately for any sign of improvement. Whereas the few cuts and bruises had been healed, the more serious injuries had not been affected in the slightest. Inferno gave vent to his eerie song before hopping down to the vampire's side, crying silent tears, pressing his face against one of the wounds. There was a hissing sound as tear met flesh and then a loud cry that shook the rafters as the vampire managed to put his strength into one last agonized scream, his eyes snapping open and rolling back in his head. The holy bird gave vent to a startled shriek before flying out of the cell and up the staircase. The phoenix had only made things worse.

The vampire's voice failed him again, dying down to a grating rasp. He lay there, his chest rising and falling rapidly, harshly, having been sent into such a panic. Trish blinked back tears.

'Reiko, it's us. It's Dante and Trish. We're here.' And to her relief, the vampire calmed visibly and managed to refocus his vision onto them. Dante tried to slip his hands under his body, wanting to get him away from that awful place but immediately flinched when Reiko vomited up a vast quantity of blood, his eyes clouding over. Trish looked towards Dante. 'We can't move him,' she said unnecessarily. She watched with pity as Dante's face contorted with rage.

'But-'

'We can't. It'll hurt him more. He'd die even before you took one step out of this place.' Dante stared again at his fallen friend again helplessly.

'Why? Why didn't it heal you?' He took out another vital star and was about to press it to Reiko's chest when he was interrupted.

'It's no use,' Rose whispered, her voice choked. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. 'It's poison. They poisoned him.' Trish stared from the harpy to the vampire, her mouth open with shock.

'No…oh no…' she gasped. 'Reiko…' Her eyes ran over his body, took in all that he had suffered, remembered all that they had been through together and shook her head in disbelief. 'He can't die though…not like this…' She pulled him slowly, carefully into her lap, trying to fight back her tears, failing when one splashed upon the dying vampire's cheek. He opened his mouth and tried to gasp out something, barely forming words and Trish saw the missing fangs and started crying in earnest. Dante had remained where he was, silent as a grave. He bit down hard on his lip before turning his head to look at Rose.

'If harpies poisoned him than you can heal him, can't you?' he demanded, his voice raw with anger, the only way he really knew how to respond. Rose stared at him hopelessly.

'That's not the way it works. I cannot heal him.' The words looked as if they were killing her even as she spoke them. Dante glared at her before narrowing his ice-blue eyes dangerously.

'Why not? What stupid rule is there this time?'

'This is nothing to do with rules. It's impossible for a harpy to heal a vampire if their blood wasn't the one that acted as poison. There's no way of knowing who's blood did this.'

'It was Romana's,' came a miserable voice from behind them. Jay. Rose lowered her head and closed her eyes, letting her breath out in a great sigh. Dante's face became warped with fury as he stared back down at his friend, who was watching him silently, listening to every word, his face calm despite the obvious pain he was in.

'It's all right,' he croaked, forcing the last of his strength into those words. Dante let out a soft, bitter laugh, one that seemed perilously close to tears of his own.

'Idiot. _We _should be comforting you, not the other way around.' He watched as Reiko smiled weakly, even as blood trickled out of the side of his mouth in a steady unending stream.

'I want to see Lorelei,' he gurgled, his voice becoming weaker. Dante sighed softly as Trish gave vent to an audible sniff.

'Isn't there any other way of saving him?' Dante heard her ask as if from a distance.

'Only the King can save him,' Jay explained, his voice low. 'He is the only one who can heal the damage done by any harpy. We don't know where he is though. Romana imprisoned him, we are certain of it.'

'Dante,' Reiko gasped again. 'I want to see Lorelei.'

'She fainted.'

'I don't care. Let me see her…' Obeying his request, Rose slowly stood up, cradling the other woman in her arms. She walked into the cell and knelt down beside the friends, aware that Reiko's eyes had remained fixed on his lover's face the entire time. He gritted his teeth and momentarily screwed his eyes shut, reaching out to place his hand on Lorelei's forehead, sending a telekinetic message to her mind, the note a simple one. He smiled exhaustedly to himself at that point, his face alarmingly pale, even for him. He gasped as his body shuddered wildly, uncontrollably in Trish's arms. He heaved, more blood leaving his body from his mouth. Trish slowly shook her head, her eyes dulled.

'You…can't die now…' She struggled, trying to hold him steady, sighing with relief as Dante tried to help. At that point, the vampire scrabbled wildly until his grip found Dante's arms, excruciating pain forcing him to cling to the slayer for all he was worth. Dante held him silently, only his eyes betraying any emotion.

'Tell her,' Reiko growled through a flood of liquid. 'Tell her…tell her I love her…Lie. Tell her I wasn't…in any pain…I wasn't suf…' And then, to Dante's horror, the vampire stopped shivering, and his grip loosened completely, his arms coming to drop limply to either side of his body.

'Reiko?' There was no answer. The vampire lay still in his arms. 'Reiko?' Trish's crying became louder. Dante stared down at the vampire in shock, fearing the worst. Then logic kicked in. His friend wasn't dead yet. He hadn't turned to a pile of ash in his arms. This brought some relief to him before I vanished unexpectedly. So what if he wasn't dead now? He'd be dead soon enough and the knowledge that he was going to lose someone else who had become close to him tore him to shreds inside. No, he told himself. He had to be strong. He had to be so much stronger than this.

But he had failed before. He had failed that poor child, his life snapped up in an instant and he'd been powerless to stop it. And he'd been powerless to stop this too. An image of his brother floated in his mind's eye. Was this why Vergil had done all he had? To try and…

At that point, they heard the phoenix begin his song again as he returned, fluttering outside the cell before coming to cling sideways to several of the bars. He spread out his wings and continued to sing, raising his head so then the melody carried, so then it floated up to the rafters. Dante felt a sudden sense of hope rising within him, soothing the rage. And still the phoenix continued to sing, until all eyes were resting upon it.

And only then did Dante notice the brown-clad man, with tangle blonde hair that fell just to his shoulders. And much to his surprise, Rose and Jay had fallen to their knees before him, bowing low. Not long after, Trish followed suit. Dante held his ground, an uncharacteristic sneer beginning to pull at his lips.

'Who the hell are you?' He snapped, his worry and stress refusing to let him mince his words. The man said nothing but looked towards the new queen.

'Rose, Queen. I must thank you for freeing me from my confines.' At that point, Dante knew who it was, and yet he still remained utterly unimpressed. He looked down towards his unconscious friend before gently lowering him and looking towards the harpy king.

'This vampire needs your help,' he said. If he was expecting the King to heal the vampire without asking any questions, he was sorely disappointed. The King hid his hands in the large volumous sleeves of his brown robes before peering at the devil hunter, as if out of mild curiosity.

'Why should I help him?' he at last asked. Rose looked up quickly, her face showing only to obviously her shock.

'Don't you want to form an alliance?' The King was quiet as Reiko slowly opened his eyes. He watched in agonized silence as the King nodded, much to everyone's relief. 'Well, this vampire is a clan leader and has been asked by the vampire master to form an alliance. He offered us a gift of power in exchange but he was cheated by Romana.' The queen's voice had suddenly become drained, and the king's face also had looked old and exhausted.

'Is this true?' he asked in confusion, looking somewhat disbelieving. Dante stood up to his full height.

'If you've changed your mind about trying to help Reiko, then do this in honour of Adele.' Rose looked towards him sharply.

'How do _you_ know about Adele? She was the one who first gathered us together. She was our first Queen. And our most loved one as well…' The king nodded in agreement to this.

'We are a very young society indeed.'

'Then do this for her. Reiko is her son.' There was a gasp and Dante turned around, only to be met by a pair of dazed hazel eyes. There was no time to explain, for the king moved forwards, lightly bidding Dante to step to one side, just as darkness claimed the vampire once again. The king began muttering under his breath, a golden light washing over the prone vampire before dying away. Trish looked towards him anxiously, her question shining unspoken in her eyes. The king looked towards her before turning his calm eyes to the obvious leader.

'It has been done and he shall soon be recovered due to his powers. It is regrettable, what happened to his fangs, but with time, even they shall heal and re-emerge.' Trish gave an audible sigh of relief before her attention was diverted by Rose, who had risen to her feet.

'Jay, please take Reiko to the infirmary, and have him settled in a room without a window please. I believe that Marcel, Dante and myself should talk. We have plenty to discuss.' The king nodded in agreement, his eyes jaded. Dante made no move to go but turned towards Trish, his eyes darting rapidly towards Reiko and then back towards his oldest friend. The blonde woman raised her eyebrows and Dante knew immediately that she had understood before he was led away. Jay stood up and gingerly picked up the vampire, grimacing as blood stained his clothes. He made his way out of the dungeons, closely followed by Trish, who had Lorelei in her arms.

They placed the two on beds next to each other, Reiko opening his eyes just as Trish was about to leave the room.

'Trish,' he called out to her, his voice barely above a whisper. She turned around and blinked before smiling at him, stroking a lock of hair away from his face when she returned to his side. 'Was it true what he said? What Dante said? That my mother was a harpy? That she used to be a queen? I can't believe it…'

'Dante's not given to telling lies. And don't let him know that you know, but he was desperate when he said it. We all were.'

'But…so I used to be part harpy?'

'You used to be an hier to the throne.'

'I don't care for that. What use is that to me? The vampire who turned me, he's dead because of my mother's blood. I wanted revenge; he did this to me.' Reiko's voice was devoid of all anger, instead it sounded flat and hollow, as if someone had sucked away all the soul he had struggled to keep for so long. Trish shuddered, the slight movement barely perceptible. Reiko sighed and closed his eyes briefly. 'Where is Dante?'

'Discussing.'

'He'd better hurry.'

'You need to rest. It's not as if we're going anywhere just yet. Not until you've recovered.' The vampire was silent at this, his eyes closed, his breathing turning deep and steady. Sleep had claimed him for its own and for this, Trish was grateful. She glanced at her watch before sighing.

Dante…what was going to happen now?


	32. Chapter 32

_Well, I'm certainly not dead yet. At any rate, this is the last chapter for this fic, and it's going to be a fair while before Dark Legion 3 will be started on, let alone finished. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone so far who's been reading. It really is lovely to know that I've had so much support. _

_ Updates are going to take even longer than usual, thanks to University and my Creative Writing module that I've taken, in the hopes I could learn some new tactics to put to good use on here. _

_ Anyway, I hope everyone enjoys this. Read, review, but most of all, enjoy!_

**Disclaimer: **_To avoid any confusion, Reiko, Rose, Marcel, Lorelei and any characters that you see here that have NEVER appeared in any of the games belong to me. Dante and the rest of the Capcom crew, belong to Capcom and will never belong to me, outside me purchasing the video games now and again when I have some spare cash. Sometimes, I let people borrow my original characters, **BUT ONLY IF THEY TALK TO ME ABOUT IT FIRST (**if people are actually crazy enough to love them as much as I do). So in short, The Tyrant Hamster is not plagiarizing. If you look at his disclaimers or author notes, you'll see that for the most part, he always tells the readers that Reiko and Arson and yes, Hade, a character in my upcoming novel belong to me and me only. So blah!_

**Chapter 32**

Dante had remained in stony silence with the harpies as he found himself being led from the dungeons and back into the more glamorous aspects of the castle, which was equal to a breath of fresh air when compared to the dark prison area. Rose looked towards him once to exchange a quick smile before she returned her eyes to the front, keeping in step with the newly re-established King.

'So you were imprisoned?' Dante asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence. Marcel looked relieved and smiled warmly.

'Yes, yes I was. Indeed I was.' To Dante, it seemed as if Marcel was only too willing to try and keep talking, just so then the awkwardness would not settle upon them again. Yet the only one who really seemed to feel uncomfortable was the King himself. It seemed completely unnecessary and somewhat foolish. 'Why do you ask?'

'How did you get free?'

'The phoenix.' The answer was immediate and assertive.

'Inferno?' Dante couldn't keep the surprise out of his voice and for this he inwardly cursed himself. The King though, knew no better and merely regarded this as normal behaviour. He nodded in response to Dante's question.

'If that is his name, then yes, Inferno.'

'How?'

'Romana placed me in a deep slumber, one from which I could not wake. Only a powerful and holy force could rouse me. And when I opened my eyes, the bird was there, singing. I believe it was his song that awakened me.' Dante was silent to this but he secretly decided that when he next saw the bird, he would give him the best head-scratch possible. It wasn't much but the phoenix was intelligent; he'd know what it meant. Or so he hoped.

Eventually, they reached a small chamber, that was well hidden and secluded, the type of place that no one but those who knew of its existence could ever hope to notice. Upon entering, the slayer immediately decided that he liked it and that it made him feel somewhat closer to home. There was a mess of books and papers and various pens, strewn about in a haphazard order, dust rising only to settle again where they walked. It was altogether cosy and made him feel comfortable at once.

'I was hoping that the board room would have been better kept than this,' Rose sighed. 'Perhaps we should find elsewhere to talk.' The King nodded in agreement but blinked when Dante spoke up.

'Nope. We're staying here.'

'Dante,' Rose said, her tone one that would be used to explain something to a small child. 'It's a mess.'

'And that's why I like it. And that's why we're going to stay in here.' Rose shot him a look of disbelief before rolling her eyes and pulling up a chair, the King following her example, the look of weakness and exhaustion returning to his eyes.

'So,' he said, clearing his throat. 'What exactly has happened? Why are we here? What needs to be discussed?' At the look on Dante's face, he smiled. 'I just want this meeting to be ordered. I want some form of structure. It will help, I feel.'

'There's a _lot_ to talk about. There is a lot that must be done, especially now that you're back,' Rose said, her face grim. Dante nodded in agreement, his eyes serious.

'Like for instance, the fact that there's a war coming and it's going to hit us pretty soon. We've only got a year to prepare.'

'A war?'

'An empress is raising a huge army, and all the demons are joining her side. I'm guessing that's probably going to stretch to include Fallen Angels as well. And we all know what a pain in the ass _they_ are.' The King leaned forward, steepling his fingers, his expression one of concern.

'And what are you planning to do about it?'

'The obvious thing. We hope to raise an army to oppose it.' The King nodded in approval but the worry did not leave his face.

'And how many have joined this army of yours?' He asked. Dante and Rose exchanged a swift look before the silver haired slayer turned to look at the King once more.

'So far, there's only Reiko, the vampire you healed, Trish and myself. We were hoping that Reiko would have been able to get some vampires to join us but…' Dante trailed off, his irritation showing clearly on his face. Rose decided to take up the conversation from where her friend had left off.

'The vampire master made Reiko a deal that he would issue compulsory orders for all the vampires to join and fight on our side but only if he managed to strike up a friendship with us.' She noticed that the king's eyes had narrowed slightly, as if he had something he had not liked. She bit her lip out of brief concern before plunging on ahead. 'Don't think ill of him, Majesty,' she added quickly, picking her words carefully, out of fear of making the vampire appear even more unappealing. 'I know for a fact that he wanted to stop the wars, regardless of whether the Vampire Master ordered him or not.' The new Queen's voice ended on a firm and authoritative note. The King had settled back in his chair, looking thoughtful.

'The way I figure it,' Dante said slowly. 'Your differences with the vampires are nothing compared to what's coming now. To me, an outsider, it seems as though your fight is a petty squabble that's costing lives on both ends.. When this invasion happens and if we're not together to stand against it, there won't be enough of you to fight anyway. The vampires have already made the first move by sending Reiko to you with a peace offering. It's about time your people got their heads out of their asses and started facing the _real_ problem at hand.' There was a resounding silence following this statement. Rose watched the King with bated breath, secretly cursing Dante and his inability to be polite, or even to learn what "being polite" meant.

Still, much to her relief, the King did not appear to mind Dante's somewhat uncouth language. The King shifted himself heavily, peering towards the slayer calmly.

'It would probably be best if the vampire had some sort of document that proved that the alliance between the vampires and harpies is real and not some sort of a farce. Rose, could you get me a treaty parchment?' The Queen shook her head.

'Romana destroyed all the old ones because they had your name on it.'

'Stupid bitch,' Dante muttered, none too quietly.

'Language,' Rose hissed.

'I will have no formalities here. There are many more important things to think and discuss,'; Marcel cut in before the conversation could go on for much longer.

'What's the big deal anyway?' Dante scowled. 'It's just a seal. There's nothing to worry about. We're wasting time that we can't afford.' Rose and Marcel didn't agree, much to Dante's surprise and irritation.

'They take a while to forge,' Rose said simply.

'Then don't bother with a seal.'

'I'm afraid the Vampire Lord won't see it that same way. I understand you're stressed, we all are, but this has to be done properly. We can't use Romana's seals.'

'Why?' There was no mistaking the growl of anger and there was no ignoring the intimidating flash of crimson that momentarily cloaked his usual ice-blue eyes.

'You're the kind of guy who likes to run into a room, all guns blazing, but try and think this through for once.'

' "Try and think." Please, I've been thinking more than ever recently and you know what? I'm tired of it! Just tell me what I need to know.'

'Think of how it would look if we used Romana's seal instead of Marcel's.'

'I don't see the big deal.'

'Well it _is_ a big deal. Romana is dead, she's not in power. If we used her seal instead of Marcel's, the vampire leader could very well say that it isn't a valid alliance and that Reiko failed. He'd refuse to help us.'

'What if, what if, what if. Stop worrying about something that might never happen.' He paused and sighed when he saw how the two harpies were staring at him. 'Look, it's just frustrating. We've been through so much and then we're waiting when we're so close to the end of all this due to formalities!'

'That's the way life sometimes is, Dante,' Rose muttered in response.

'All I'm saying is that this nameless empress isn't going to wait while we deal with this. Do what you have to, but do it fast.' Marcel listened politely to the growled words of the slayer before sighing and sitting back.

'A dangerous army and one man trying to gather enough sources,' he mused. Dante snorted with disgust.

'Thanks for stating the obvious,' he grumbled, 'but like I said, I haven't got the time to waste.'

'A prophecy…a premonition…' Marcel continued, his voice faint. 'So this must be what she was talking about…' Dante was silent, but he frowned, waiting for Marcel to continue. He wasn't disappointed. 'Rose. I need you to scour the library. I need you to find the records that were kept during Queen Adele's reign.' Rose nodded and stood up. Dante blinked.

'Don't you have servants to do that sort of thing for you?' he said loudly, feeling protective. Rose smiled.

'I _could_ give an order, but I'd rather do this myself. I don't trust myself enough to give orders just yet.'

'Whatever.' He watched as Rose left, closing the door fully behind her, the loud slam echoing in the crowded, cluttered room. Marcel smiled.

'Queen Adele kept all of her own records. She wrote them out by hand. During the later years of her reign, before she abdicated the throne, they turned into a diary of sorts, filled here and there with her personal thoughts as well as the hopes for the future and her dreams.'

'Good for her.'

'In fact, she had a very interesting dream, and now that my tired eyes have seen you, I am inclined to believe that it wasn't a dream at all, and that it was a prophecy. Our beloved Queen had a wonderful talent.' Marcel grew silent as the door opened again, revealing Rose, who was holding several thin books in her hand.

'I didn't know what copy you wanted, so I brought the original _and_ the copied version.'

'Wouldn't the originals be delicate? Wouldn't you have to be careful handling them?' Dante sniped, his impatience and restlessness making him feel sour. Rose seemed to think that it was easier to ignore him. Marcel also seemed to think the same. All of a sudden, Dante felt as if he were being treated like a teenager, like how his old friend Mary and once treated him, with scorn and disdain. He sighed and tried to calm his emotions. He wasn't nineteen anymore, he was sitting in a palace of a thoroughly incompetent kingdom and he was behaving like a frustrated, bored child. He settled down and tried to pay attention to what the other two were saying.

'I'm glad that you brought both. I would like for you to wrap the original and lay it to one side for now.'

'Yes your Majesty.' Rose murmured respectfully, apparently forgetting that Marcel and her stood on level ground and were on equal terms. She bobbed in a bow before tending to her task, continuing to listen to her King as he began to address the slayer.

'You see,' he murmured, 'I think we owe your vampire friend an apology. Freeing him and healing him isn't enough, I don't think. I would like to do something else for him.'

'Marcel,' Dante cut in quickly, feeling that the King was veering way _way_ off track, 'you mentioned something about a prophecy.' Marcel didn't reply, instead taking the copy from Rose and leafing through it. Dante sighed and looked towards his friend but she was staring fixedly at Marcel, her eyes serious, her face grim. For a second, Dante felt out of his depth, felt as if he'd been thrown into a world which he knew nothing about. The sensation lasted only a second, but somehow, it was enough.

At last, Marcel began to speak, reading aloud from Adele's records.

' "_Last night, I had a strange dream, which I am inclined to believe was a premonition, such was the vividness of the images. I dreamt of a war, a horrible and fearsome army invaded this mortal realm. Yet there was a force that rose to oppose it. There were four leaders, a warrior clad in red, a demoness, and a harpy queen. But my attention was most captured by the fourth leader, a vampire wielding a metal staff. He had my eyes, he had my face. I think he may have been some relative of mine in some way. The battle wore on but sadly, I am too overcome by the memory to relate the events that took place. I could hear someone singing. The lyrics were memorable and now, I write them down here so then I might never forget._" ' Marcel paused. 'I'm afraid that at this point, the ink becomes illegible. We don't know the lyrics of the song but there is an equal chance that they might not be so very important.' Dante had his own opinion on the matter but he bit his tongue, knowing that there was a time and a place for everything. He looked towards Rose but again, the expression on her face was unreadable. He rolled his eyes before looking towards Marcel again.

'Well? All this proves is that there's a war coming and that we fight in it. And we knew that anyway. Stop wasting our time!'

'There is talk here, just a small sentence, that describes the red jewel that Reiko had with him.'

'You're giving it back to Reiko, aren't you?' Rose said, her voice soft. Marcel smiled slightly.

'That man has Adele's eyes and there are a lot of her features in his face. I have no doubt that Adele's dream was a prophecy. And if that is the case, then it is decreed by fate that this jewel will stay in your possession.' He grew quiet and turned away from the two. Dante sat there in silence, a frown on his face until Rose tugged gently at the sleeve of his coat.

'Come on. Let's leave him to it.' The two walked side by side towards the chamber door, drawing to a halt when Marcel's voice sounded again.

'By the way, be sure to give Reiko the original transcript. I am sure he will appreciate it as a mother's memento.' Dante found himself unconsciously touching the amulet that hung around his neck.

Once outside, Dante turned to the new harpy queen. 'Are you sure it's all right to give those to someone else?' he asked, indicating the records. Rose sighed and shrugged.

'The King has ordered it. No one will challenge his will.'

'Not even you?'

'Definitely not.'

'But you're the Queen. You have the power to, don't you?' Rose was silent to that and Dante did not persist. He was surprised when Rose spoke up a few minutes later.

'The King is always the one who holds the most power.'

'Yet Romana managed to seal him away. He didn't look so strong to me. He just looked like a fraud.' Rose glared at him, finding his usual bluntness irritating.

'Dante, you can't break traditions so easily. It's not as simple as that. This is culture and this is the way we are and this is most likely the way we'll always be. For as long as we have been grouped here, it was always the King, when there was a King, who was the most influential. The Queen is second to him. But that does not mean that the Queen never gets what she wants.' Dante one again found himself keeping his thoughts to himself but only to protect his friend from his own words.

Tradition. Wasn't it always the thing that held people back from change, change that could very well benefit the society? Yet here was a civilization that was kept more or less stable because of this one figure, this male monarch. Take away the traditional figure of power and what would happen? Well, Dante had seen that for himself. Look at all that had happened during Romana's reign as a lone ruler. Chaos. It had all fallen into chaos and disrepair.

Reiko was sitting up in bed when they reached the infirmary. The vampire's face was utterly devoid of expression, even as he looked towards the new queen and the demon slayer.

'Dante,' he said, his voice as bland as his face. 'How long have you known?'

'I don't see how any of this even matters anymore. I don't see what the big deal is.'

'It's a big deal to me,' Reiko replied, his voice low yet calm.

'Why?' Rose blinked at Dante's tactlessness.

'Dante…' she tried to admonish him.

'It's a simple question. I just want to know why it's a big deal.' Some expression was beginning to leak back into Reiko's face. He looked bewildered by the obviousness of Dante's question. Dante watched as the vampire took a few minutes to think.

'It _is_ a big deal. But I cannot tell you exactly why. All I can tell you is that I wouldn't be feeling this way if it didn't matter.'

'I personally think that you're a glutton for misery. What good will feeling sorry for yourself do? Will being angry change anything? It won't bring her back and it won't change what you have become.' This stung the vampire, and his face contorted into an expression of fury.

'It's probably not going to change much, except for the fact that I'm not who I thought I was all this time. It doesn't seem like a big deal to you, but that's because it wasn't _your_ life being kept a secret from you by your family _and_ your best friend! Why don't you have a bombshell dropped on you and see how happy you can be about it. It probably won't make a difference in the long run but what bothers me is the fact that you decided there were facts of my life that wasn't important enough for me to know about.'

'Oh, so you're the only one who's ever had something hidden from you, Reiko? That it?' Dante's voice had turned hostile. Reiko said nothing but he glared at him, all traces of his timidity disappearing. 'What's wrong? You decided to grow a backbone all of a sudden? Well, I could tell you a few things about having something hidden but I'm a bigger man than that.'

'So you advertise your own virtues? That's _very_ big of you.'

'You're both acting like pathetic children,' Lorelei cut in, annoyed. '_I'm_ the one who should be pissed at the world. I can't see why this even started.' Lorelei looked towards Trish, who merely blinked at her.

'I was finding this amusing,' she muttered, sounding disappointed. The vampire gave vent to a sudden sigh, sinking back against the pillows, even though the blaze of anger hadn't died just yet.

'I apologize for snapping but I refuse to apologize for what I said.'

'Whatever,' Dante shrugged, his eyes watching him frostily. 'All I'm saying is that we have better things to do than listen to you whine all day.'

'Actually,' Rose interrupted, 'we can't do much until the seals are formed.' She placed the records in the vampire's lap. 'I don't know if it will help but these were written by Adele. Marcel wanted you to have them. We have the transcribed copy.'

'He wants me to have this?' the vampire repeated, his voice bleak once more. 'Why?'

'It's not for me to question what our King orders.'

'So if he suddenly ordered you to cut off your head, you'd do it?' Rose looked affronted and frowned, turning away.

'Someone _is_ in a bad mood.' An uncomfortable silence fell amongst the group until Trish broke it.

'Only a few more hours until dark,' she said, somewhat unnecessarily in Dante's eyes. Reiko stirred slightly, his eyes dull and lifeless.

'I'm sorry, everyone, for everything. But I just want to be left alone, until my bitterness passes, at least.' Dante scoffed and left the room without a backwards glance, Trish following closely. Rose shot the vampire a concerned look before leaving. Lorelei hung back and then smiled at him sadly.

'Whatever you decide, I'll wait,' she whispered. Reiko nodded numbly before averting his eyes. Lorelei took this as a sign to leave.

---

The morning dawned and Dante entered the infirmary, wanting to tell Reiko that the seals had been sent out and that progress was being made much faster than expected. Yet when he saw the empty bed, he knew that the vampire had left, leaving behind a scrap of paper. The hunter picked up the parchment and frowned, his eyes scanning it rapidly. He growled to himself, shaking his head and crossing over to the window.

Dante could only hope that the vampire knew what he was doing…


End file.
